Fangs of Fenrir
by dragonliege242
Summary: When Black Vritra appeared, the event had the unforeseen side effect of destroying the veil that separated the mundane and the mystical. Now, 23 years later, Mononobe Yuu experiences firsthand the consequences of that event.
1. Prologue: The Birth of the Seventh

Welcome to a brand new fanfic of mine! I know I said that I wouldn't post new stories, but firstly, I needed to get this one out of my head before I went crazy, and two, having to write Dragonberry Chronicles and Black Joker consecutively is not productive to me, since at this point in both stories, they're extremely similar to each other, so this one will be updated between Dragonberry Chronicles and Black Joker.

Unlimited Fafnir is a new section recently added, and while the anime was mediocre at best, I really enjoyed the light novel.

Campione may seem like a strange series to crossover Unlimited Fafnir with, but I find myself liking the idea.

I have never believed that I would be able to write on the same level as masters like gabriel blessing, Daneel Rush, or Marcus Galen Sands, but this idea intrigues me greatly, and I intend to do it justice.

By the way, I have likely completely and utterly butchered Archaic English in this chapter, and will probably continue to do so in future chapters as well unless I find a reliable source, so if you cringe at the sight of it, don't say I didn't warn you.

On with the story!

* * *

23 years ago, without any warning, an unprecedented, unidentified giant of a monster appeared in the sky above Japan.

With its mere passage, it wreaked untold levels of destruction and calamities.

Every country in the world attempted to fight back against it, but with its supernatural ability to create anything out of seemingly nothing, it easily neutralized any attack that humanity threw at it.

As though in sheer mockery of humanity's attempts to fight it, the monster leisurely traveled around the globe once before vanishing without a trace.

It would later be given the designation 'Black Vritra', the first of 7 colossal beings that came to be identified with the moniker 'Dragons'.

Named after the legendary creature spoken of in Hindu scriptures, it was soon after Black Vritra's disappearance that humans bearing the same power that Black Vritra was found to possess, Dark Matter Generation, began to be born one after another in countries that Black Vritra had passed through. These humans, possessing powers beyond normal humans, would come to be known as Type-Dragons, or commonly, Ds.

Possessing the power to create anything they could imagine, Ds were highly sought after commodities that several small-scale wars almost broke out over.

However, such conflicts were abruptly brought to an end when six other colossal beings appeared around the world.

Six more Dragons, each possessing a different, but no less dangerous ability than Black Vritra, bringing the total number to 7.

Black Vritra, possessing the form of a classic western Dragon with black scales, standing at easily at 200 meters tall. Its ability was what is now known today as Dark Matter Generation. It had vanished from the face of the earth, never seen again since its first appearance.

Green Yggdrasil, possessing the form of a giant tree over 500 meters tall. The true nature of its ability was still unknown, but all weapons that ran on electricity failed to work against it once they entered anywhere near a 1km radius of the Green Dragon. Initially appearing in a Norwegian mountain range, it had moved and currently stood on the border between Germany and Denmark. It did not attack humans as long as humans kept away from it, and was thus deemed one of the less troublesome Dragons to deal with.

Red Basilisk, possessing the form of a giant, red diamond-scaled lizard, with a body length of over 100 meters. Like Yggdrasil, the true nature of its ability was still unknown, but it was capable of firing red lasers from its eyes that could turn anything it came into contact with into ash, dust or salt. It currently lay dormant in the Sahara Desert, not showing any signs of aggression towards humans unless they entered its territory, much like Yggdrasil.

Yellow Hraesvelgr, possessing the form of a giant golden avian with a blurred outline. It was the smallest of the 7 Dragons with a body length of only 10 meters, but it was considered to be the most dangerous of the Dragons, due to its unknown ability that prevented any attack, physical or energy-based, from interfering with its body. It was currently travelling in the air above the world's surface, posing a threat to any form of air travel unlucky enough to cross paths with it. It also had a penchant for appearing in war torn countries before leaving after a short while.

Blue Hekatonkheir, possessing the form of a blue giant without any facial features except for a single upward-facing horn. It was easily the biggest of the 7 Dragons, so massive that its horned, featureless head was almost always obscured by overhead clouds. It did not possess any offensive capability other than what was granted to it by its sheer size, but it could not be killed. As fragile as it was, being affected by virtually any weapon, it simply regenerated instantly, making it one of the most dangerous Dragons, second only to the Hraesvelgr, earning the moniker 'Undead'. It did not have a fixed habitat, and simply wandered around the world like Vritra had before, wreaking havoc with nothing more than the magnitude of its size.

White Leviathan, possessing the form of a colossal white whale-like creature with a horn, around the same size as the Basilisk in body length. Its ability was fairly simple, but powerful. Antigravity, the ability to repel any and all things with a repulsion field that surrounded its body. Simply by adjusting the strength of the field, it could defend itself from both physical and energy attacks. It travelled the world through the oceans, causing many sea disasters.

And finally, Purple Kraken, possessing the form of a squid-like creature with only an eye for a main body, around 100 meters in length. Its ability was called Absolute, owing to its offensive and defensive capabilities. Its tentacles were made of mithril, the current hardest substance known to mankind, and thus able to weather basically any kind of attack except one, the Kraken's offensive power, antimatter, which would cause a powerful annihilation reaction when it came in contact with all forms of matter, resulting in a massive explosion. Like the Leviathan, it travelled the world through the oceans, though it was known to come onto shore on occasion, making it an instigator of both land and sea disasters. Coincidentally, or perhaps out of an instinctual awareness of each other's location and a desire to avoid the other, the Leviathan and the Kraken never seemed to come in contact with each other.

However, these 7 monstrous creatures were only part of the reason why mankind had stopped all conflict with each other in favor of cooperation.

The other part came from the beings that arose shortly after Black Vritra vanished.

The first of them appeared in the famous city of Athens in Greece. Without any warning, a _monster_ appeared.

It possessed the appearance of a man with red hair, a tall and muscular build, and dressed in Greek armor. If his appearance were limited to just that, he could be considered an ordinary, if eccentric human. Even his height of 2 meters, while rare in Greece, was not outside of the realm of human comprehension.

But, that thing could not possibly be a human. It could only be a monster. It possessed orbs of red flames for eyes, a flaming plume atop its helmet, a spear with red stained metal, and a nearly tangible aura that screamed of war, conflict, hate, anger, bloodlust, and _deathdeathdeathDeathDeathDeathDEATHDEATHDEATH_!

With a maniacal laugh, and a thrust of its spear, an entire section of Athens fell to ruin, obliterated by an unseen force that did a good job of pulverizing anyone unlucky enough to be in its range of effect. The once glorious city crumbled amidst flames and bloodshed.

Any attempts to fight it were curtailed by an unbelievable occurrence. Anyone sent to fight that thing suddenly flew into a frenzy, attacking anyone in sight, even their own comrades. Even the civilians who had yet to escape found themselves maddened with insatiable bloodlust, destroying all things in sight.

It could only be describe as a scene from Hell itself, far more terrifying than any mayhem the Dragons had caused.

And in the middle of that carnage, that creature sat upon a throne of mangled corpses, delighting in the madness it had wrought.

It declared its name to be Ares, and then vanished, leaving behind only the devastated city of Athens as proof of its existence.

The world fell into a panic once more. What was that creature? Was it another Dragon? But, could a Dragon possess such a humanlike appearance?

Answers came in the most unexpected of forms. A group of men, old, young and of a mixture of races, barged into the emergency meeting called by the what was known then as the UN, proclaiming that being to be a what they called a Heretic God.

Then came a revelation that the world had not been ready for, even with the appearance of the Dragons and the so-called Heretic God.

Magic existed. Users no longer existed in abundance like they used to in earlier ages, but there still existed societies in virtually every part of the world.

The world leaders were about to laugh and sneer them out of the meeting room when they nearly received simultaneous heart attacks in the form of a rudimentary flight spell.

Once the ruckus had died down, the mages began to explain the beings known as Heretic Gods. Beings created by the faith and beliefs of humanity, stemming from the earliest ancestors of modern mankind. Their world and the world beyond, the one of myths, gave form to these beliefs and created the Gods and other legendary beings. However, on occasion, those beings rebelled against their own legend and chose to descend to the mortal plane, bringing disasters with them.

A God of the Sea would bring floods, a God of the Sun would bring drought and famines, a God of Darkness would enshroud the world in night, and so on.

The one that had laid waste to Athens was indeed Heretic God Ares, the Greek God of War, and with him, he had brought war and bloodshed.

He had vanished for the time being, but he could reemerge and any moment and bring with him more chaos.

As for why no one had noticed Heretic Gods up until that point, it was due to the veil that separated the mystic world from the mundane, causing normal humans to perceive Heretic God emergences as nothing more than natural disasters.

However, that veil had been destroyed, by what the mages theorized to be the otherworldly energy that the Dragons had released into the world, shredding the veil that separated the mystic from the mundane to tiny pieces, causing the mundane to be able to perceive the mystic world.

It was due to that that the magic users of the world chose to reveal themselves. After all, what was the point in hiding when the only thing that had been keeping them a complete secret from the mundane was now gone?

That brought up a question in many minds. Just how many natural disasters had actually been Heretic Gods, and how many of them were still walking the mortal plane?

Then came a proclamation that caused the world to protest and despair.

Humans could not defeat Heretic Gods. That was a truth of the world, and nothing could change it.

The powers of Heretic Gods were not dependent on human worship and belief. The only things that affected were the nature of a Heretic God and their appearance.

Their power was dependent solely on one thing: the Heretic God's own will.

If an egotistical Heretic God believed that he was absolutely and irrevocably the strongest, they would possess power that befitted that belief, power far beyond human comprehension. There was simply no way for humanity to defend against Heretic Gods if they chose to attack. It was like trying to throwing a mug of water to fight a wildfire.

Then came a glimmer of hope in the tides of despair.

Very rarely, likely only once every few decades, an exceptional human would appear and bring about a miracle capable of circumventing that truth. They managed to slay Heretic Gods, and though a ritual cast by another Heretic God, Pandora the Witch, they usurped the slain Gods' powers, known as Authorities, becoming God Slayers, or as they were known as in the modern age, Campione.

However, that hope was tiny at best. Campione, despite being God Slayers, were not immortal themselves, and could very much be killed like any human. It was simply much more difficult to do so.

Heretic Gods were not the prey of Campione. They were mutual predators and prey. Heretic Gods could kill Campione, Campione could kill Heretic Gods, Campione could kill Campione, and Heretic Gods could kill Heretic Gods.

That was why despite many Campione emerging from the dawn of men, there were only 3 alive at the time.

The First Campione, Marquis Sasha Dejanstahl Voban, a Hungarian man in his 400s, middle-aged in appearance. He slew his first Heretic God at the ripe age of 16, and had only continued to grow in power and experience alongside age since then.

The Second Campione, Luo Cuilian, or Luo Hao, known as the Ruler of the Martial Realm, the foremost martial arts master in the world. She was at least 200 years old, possessing the appearance of a young Chinese woman. However, she had secluded herself in China's mountains along with her martial arts cult, and had not been seen in a while.

The Third Campione, Madame Aisha of India, the Eternal Beauty. She was the most mysterious of the three Campione, not having been seen since she first became a Campione, to the point where some actually doubted her existence.

The other reason why Campione were not considered a perfect counter to Heretic Gods was because of their personalities.

To put it bluntly, all of the Campione had a screw loose somewhere in their heads.

Voban refused to leave his castle for anything less than a King-Class Heretic God, and Luo Hao only sought strong Heretic Gods as opponents.

Madame Aisha was a non-factor, since no one knew where she was.

They were all content to allow the world to burn if they did not feel like fighting.

The world was warned that any and all attempts to control Campione were doomed to end in failure. The last time any human had been foolish enough to attempt to manipulate a Campione, the city of Pompeii was wiped out by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

And the three Campione were considered _mild_. Many Campione in the past became tyrants, ravaging the world for their own entertainment, earning them the title 'Rakshasa Raja', or Devil Kings.

That quickly put a damper in any plans the world leaders had been cooking up to control the three, or rather, two Campione.

Since that day, the world changed.

In the 23 years that passed since the appearance of the Dragons and Heretic Gods, several events occurred.

The UN disbanded and reformed into a new organization with the leading magic associations of the world: Asgard, an international organization dedicated to mitigating the disasters brought by Dragons and Heretic Gods alike by researching them.

They then created a smaller organization known as NIFL, composed of both mundane and magical personnel, in charge of research and development of weaponry to fight against Dragons and Heretic Gods, though obviously, they had failed to achieve that purpose and were delegated the role of cleanup crew by the rest of the world.

Ds around the world were rounded up and shipped off to an island near the equator known as Midgard, which was basically a prison for them to be detained and observed, though recently, the Ds had argued for their human rights, allowing Midgard autonomy while under Asgard's supervision.

Several more Heretic Gods emerged and wreaked havoc on the world before disappearing, in addition to frequent Dragon disasters by Blue Hekatonkheir, White Leviathan and Purple Kraken.

Humanity tried. They truly did, but not a single weapon mankind had was capable of scratching a Heretic God. Even the one time Germany had been desperate enough to throw a hydrogen bomb at Heretic God Siegfried had failed spectacularly, resulting in only an utterly unscathed Heretic God standing in the middle of a ravaged region of the country that was now uninhabitable thanks to the radiation.

And finally, three more Campione were born.

The Fourth Campione and the first Campione of the modern age, Alexander Gascoigne of Britain, known as the Black Prince Alec. He was a dark-skinned young man, a young magician who became a Campione at the age of 16, 10 years ago, after slaying the Fallen Angel Heretic God, Ramiel.

The Fifth Campione, John Pluto Smith, obviously not his real name, of USA, the guardian of Los Angeles. He was strange even by Campione standards, because he dressed up like a superhero, complete with an insectoid mask to protect his identity. He was assumed to be a young man, slaying the Heretic God Tezcatlipoca 8 years ago.

The Sixth Campione, Lord Salvatore Doni of Italy, known as the King of Swords. He was a 22 year old blonde Italian man, a magic swordsman, with a slightly muscular build, slaying the Irish Heretic God Nuadha just 2 years ago.

Though three more Campione were born, each originating from modern times and thus knowing the crisis the world faced better than the old generation, negotiations with them still failed. They were simply too willful.

Black Prince Alec preferred to do his own thing, even starting his own magic association, Royal Arsenal, to oppose the elite magic association of Britain, the Witenagemot.

John Pluto Smith cared only for the safety of Los Angeles, rarely leaving its boundaries unless an opponent he was fighting had escaped.

Salvatore Doni was, simply put, an idiot, and that was not an insult, but a statement of a fact. He was mentally retarded, though perhaps not obviously, and was only good at swordsmanship, not having any aptitude for magic at all before becoming a Campione.

In the end, there was no Campione willing to aid Asgard in fighting the Dragons and Heretic Gods.

Then came the Seventh Campione.

This is his story, a story of a boy, trained to kill humans, and instead, through a twist of fate, became a killer of Gods.

* * *

"Huff…huff…huff…"

Mononobe Yuu, a young teenage Japanese boy with blue hair and eyes, 14 years of age, and wearing military attire, panted as softly as he could as he hid in a treetop, trying to buy some time for reprieve from the monster beyond monsters hunting him.

"Where art thou, young warrior!? Surely thou hast not fled from a duel with this knight!?"

Yuu flinched at the loud voice, the voice of a monster, calling for him.

How had the situation degenerated so quickly?

" _Gee, let me think…"_ Yuu thought sarcastically to himself.

Just one year ago, if anyone told him that he would be a soldier in NIFL, the captain of a special ops force, in the middle of a forest in Spain, facing down a Heretic God, a beyond monstrous being he had no hope of defeating, to buy time for his men and the hostages they had rescued to escape, he would have laughed in their faces and asked what they were smoking in their free time.

But, a lot could change in the span of just one year.

A few months ago, Mononobe Yuu had been a fairly ordinary boy.

He was born and raised in Nanato City, an inland mountain town near Tokyo.

He was the son of Mononobe Kai, an office worker, and Mononobe Yoshimi, a housewife.

He was the older brother of Mononobe Mitsuki, formerly Tachibana Mitsuki, his adopted little sister and childhood friend, and also self-proclaimed fiancée, not that he _actually_ minded.

Her parents had died in a car crash when they, Yuu and Mitsuki were going camping 8 years ago.

They had died instantly on impact, but Yuu and Mitsuki survived, because at the time of the accident, they awakened their powers as Ds.

That's what made Yuu slightly out of the ordinary. All Ds were girls as far as the world knew, thus he was the first male D.

He and Mitsuki had been keeping their identities as Ds a secret so that they wouldn't be sent to Midgard. Thus, only their parents knew.

That came to an end when just a few months ago, Blue Hekatonkheir attacked their town.

With its sheer immensity, it easily crushed the small town with its simple passage.

Most of the residents evacuated with the help of NIFL, but Mitsuki stayed behind to fight the Blue Dragon with her dark matter, unwilling to let the town be destroyed.

Seeing his little sister's desperation, Yuu wished that he had the power to dispel her sorrow.

That's when he met _it_.

The Green Dragon, Green Yggdrasil.

It appeared to him in the form of a small green sprout growing out of a crack in the ground.

It offered him a deal: the power to defeat the Hekatonkheir in exchange for his memories.

He asked why it was trying to kill its fellow Dragons, but it simply replied that the other Dragons were no longer needed, and were obsolete, followed by some things he did not understand.

Of course, one would have to be crazy to even consider brokering a deal with one of the monsters threatening humanity, but Yuu couldn't care less about that. He just wanted to destroy what was causing his little sister distress.

He accepted the deal, a deal that he had kept secret, and Yggdrasil began transmitting data to him. The sheer volume of the data Yggdrasil was trying to impart to him almost completely destroyed the personality known as Mononobe Yuu.

Even when he terminated the connection, cutting the influx of data, he had already lost a great deal of his memories.

In fact, the only memories he had retained were those pertaining to Mitsuki. He could not even remember the names or faces of his own parents.

However, in return, Yggdrasil had imparted an unexpected power to him: information, or more specifically, weapon data, a weapon called Marduk.

He immediately knew what he had to do. He had to create that weapon using dark matter.

However, his dark matter generating capacity was severely lacking compared to other Ds. There was no way he would be able to produce enough dark matter to create that weapon.

Not by himself, anyway.

So, he borrowed Mitsuki's dark matter and created a massive silver cannon that shot a blast of blue flames, instantly engulfing the titanic Blue Dragon, completely erasing it in one shot.

Such a feat did not go unnoticed by the NIFL troops, who came to investigate the source of the attack that had annihilated a Dragon in a single blow.

To prevent Mitsuki from being discovered as a D, Yuu offered himself up, using dark matter generation to prove that he was a D and claiming to be the one who had destroyed Hekatonkheir.

He was immediately taken in custody by NIFL, loaded into the back of one of their vehicles. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness, partly due to the strain of creating such a massive weapon, and partly due to the sedative the NIFL soldiers had injected into him, was Mitsuki crying out for him as the vehicle sped away.

When he came to, he realized he wasn't in Midgard, even in his drowsy state.

He was fairly certain that Midgard did not welcome its students by gagging them, chaining them and then throwing them into a cell.

It was a few hours later that a certain man arrived.

His name was Loki Jotunheim, a Major in NIFL.

He had taken an interest in Yuu for defeating the Hekatonkheir and used forceful means to get him under his command.

From then on, Yuu was trained as a soldier of NIFL, but more importantly, as Loki's perfect killing machine.

Learning refined fighting techniques from both Loki and another soldier called Hreidmar, and developing a pseudo-personality called Fafnir, an existence created to kill humans, Yuu was quickly made the captain of Loki's special ops squad, Sleipnir, composed of 8 other similar-aged boys like him.

They were sent to many locations where Dragons and Heretic Gods had passed through, quelling conflicts that had erupted and often coming into conflicts with Dragon and Heretic God worshippers, who were designated terrorists.

Up to this point, Yuu had never taken a single human life. Not because he was too weak to. Quite the opposite actually. Loki had made him so strong that he could choose to spare or kill enemy combatants on a whim. Wishing to retain what was left of the personality known as Mononobe Yuu, Mitsuki's older brother, he never allowed himself to take a life.

It never seemed to bother Loki, who would always smile on congratulate him on a job well done.

This was supposed to be just another routine mission too.

A mafia cell had taken control of a town in Spain, and was rumored to have connections to the Sons of Muspell, the largest organization of Dragon worshippers, led by a D, Kili Surtr Muspelheim.

They were tasked with taking them out and rescuing any hostages they may have taken.

The mission had initially gone off without a hitch. Sleipnir easily crushed the mafia cell, and they had rescued the hostages, a little girl with pink hair and her parents.

It was when they were about to take the mafia cell into custody that things began to go horribly wrong.

How were they supposed to know that one of the members of the cell was a mage?

By the time they had realized, it was already too late.

The mad sorcerer had already completed his ritual, and a terrible monster appeared.

The monster bore the appearance of a young British man with blond hair and green eyes, clad in whitish-silver armor, wielding a western sword in his hand.

If there were such a thing as a perfect human, in terms of appearance, Yuu felt that this thing would be the closest to claiming that title, even though it was about the furthest thing from human possible.

The monster released a horrible aura, heating up the entire area, making Yuu feel like he was standing directly under an overhead midday sun instead of the late afternoon that it was right now.

Yuu immediately realized what the man was.

A Heretic God, a monster beyond monsters.

The sorcerer attempted to command the Heretic God to attack them…and was turned to ashes with a single strike of the knight's sword for his trouble.

The monster in the guise of a human-like appearance then turned his attention to them.

Yuu felt a terrible shiver run up and down his spine, and Fafnir screaming at him to run, to get away from this _predator_.

But, he couldn't. He had to get his men and the hostages out first.

He immediately ordered Sleipnir to take the hostages and escape to the rendezvous point where Loki was waiting for them.

They had initially protested, but they knew that even together, they stood no chance against a monster like this.

So, they had reluctantly escaped, leaving Yuu alone to face the monster.

The Heretic God took one look at him and shook his head.

"Thou shouldst depart, young one. This knight hast no interest in taking the life of a youngling."

That was what the monster had said, in a lyrical voice that projected its immense charisma, and Yuu actually found himself wanting to obey,

But, Yuu held firm and refused to comply.

After all, if this thing was let loose, who knew how many people would die this time?

"Hm, very well then. I shall regard thee as a warrior. Let us duel honorably to the death!" The Heretic God said with a smile, not looking at all offended that a mere human was opposing it.

In fact, it had even looked a bit pleased.

That was basically the reason why Yuu was on the run. He didn't need to be a genius to know that getting hit once by a Heretic God would kill him instantaneously.

The Heretic God possessed speed far beyond human comprehension. It was only due to his training and instincts that Yuu was able to barely avoid its attacks that set the area ablaze.

He made a few attempts to attack it just to try his luck, but not only did any bullets he fired and any knifes he threw fail to pierce the monster's armor, they all _melted_ from the sheer heat the monster was emitting the moment they made contact.

His only option was to run. Run and hide.

Run, hide and improvise.

He was still working on the improvisation part.

At least he managed to successfully lure him into the forest in the opposite direction to where his men and the hostages had escaped, and was now hiding in the treetops in an attempt to buy time for himself.

However, he couldn't stay like this for long.

Heretic Gods were unpredictable at best. His patience was probably wearing thinner and thinner with every passing moment, and he could forgo him and go after his men instead if it ran out.

With a heavy sigh, and a distinct lack of a solid plan, Yuu leapt down from the treetops with the anti-armor pistol, possessing an elongated barrel, Enlil.

He was unaware of the change taking place within him.

* * *

Mononobe Mitsuki, a beautiful girl with snow white skin, short black hair and blue eyes, sighed for the umpteenth time since she got to Midgard.

Her brother had offered himself up to NIFL to prevent her from being found out as a D and being shipped off to this place.

Because it was her wish. She did not want to come to Midgard, and she had made that very clear when they awakened their abilities as Ds.

After her brother was taken from her, she continued to live her peaceful days as a normal human being, but those days felt empty, meaningless.

It was only a while later that she realized why. Because Yuu, her beloved adoptive older brother and proclaimed fiancé was not there by her side.

It hadn't been the town she wished to protect when she made the decision to fight the Hekatonkheir. What she wanted to protect was the life she shared with the person she loved most in the world.

But, it was already too late by the time she had realized that. Yuu was gone.

So, she wanted to go to his side.

After speaking with her adoptive parents, she outed herself as a D and was immediately shipped off to Midgard.

But…Yuu wasn't there. No one had even heard of him, and anyone she asked, including members of faculty, were more than a little skeptical about the existence of a male D.

She had screwed up again. Not only did she fail to find Yuu, she rendered the sacrifice he made for her meaningless.

Swallowed by her guilt and self-loathing, she began her days as a resident/student of Midgard listlessly.

She was assigned to the Brunhilde Class, one of the 9 classes in Midgard, with the class student number 3, the 3rd student to enter that class, behind student number 1, Lisa Highwalker, a blonde European girl with reddish-purple eyes, and an uncommonly well-endowed chest, to the modestly proportioned Mitsuki's dismay, the heiress of the Highwalker Group which possessed close ties to Asgard, and student number 2, Firill Crest, a bibliophilic girl with short purplish-silver hair and hazel eyes who was never seen without a book in her hands, the third princess of the Principality of Erlia, which had fought for the human rights of Ds.

They tried to make her feel welcome, but the sense of loss she experienced worked against that, and ended up having little effect on her.

Then, _she_ arrived in Midgard. Brunhilde Class, student number 4, Shinomiya Miyako, the little sister of Shinomiya Haruka, the current student council president and the captain of Midgard's Dragon Subjugation Squad.

There obviously wasn't a Heretic God Subjugation Squad. Not only were Heretic God attacks fairly rare in comparison to Dragon attacks, there was simply no way for humans to win against Heretic Gods, just as the magic users had claimed, not even Ds. There were just too many, and their abilities too diverse.

After all, Ds could only create what was within the limits of their imagination, and unfortunately, there was still not a weapon in the world that humans could conceive that was capable of killing a Heretic God.

It might have been possible if the Authorities of Heretic Gods and Campione could be created, but being the powers of Gods, they existed far outside the limits of human imagination.

So, Midgard focused their efforts on doing what could actually be done. Fighting Dragons.

Dragons possessed powerful abilities, but it wasn't like it was completely hopeless like it was in the case with Heretic Gods.

Several attempts made to kill the Leviathan had proven that its Antigravity field was not absolute and had openings that could be taken advantage of.

The Basilisk, Kraken and Yggdrasil could all theoretically be defeated, since they didn't possess overwhelming defenses. The Basilisk's diamond scales could be destroyed by mithril, the Kraken's mithril tentacles could be destroyed by high enough temperatures, though ones that humans could not yet successfully replicate outside of a laboratory, and if a strong enough analog weapon were created, Yggdrasil's wooden body could be destroyed.

The only truly troublesome ones were Hekatonkheir, who simply regenerated no matter how badly it was damaged, like it did even after Yuu had completely destroyed it with his attack, albeit taking months to do so, and the Hraesvelgr, which the strongest attacks that humanity could throw at it failed to interact with.

So, instead of focusing on a completely hopeless situation, they chose to make the best out of what they could do.

Back to the topic on Shinomiya Miyako, to put it bluntly, Mitsuki felt overwhelmed when she first met her.

Physically, she was certainly beautiful, a Yamato Nadeshiko, with her shoulder length black hair, hazel eyes and heart-shaped face, but more than just her surface appearance, it was her magnificent aura that really amazed Mitsuki.

Miyako was the first person in Midgard that Mitsuki ever opened up to, and soon, they became best friends and roommates. Unlike everyone else, Miyako never doubted Yuu's existence as a male D. To her, it was simple. If Mitsuki said it was true, then it must be true.

It was through Miyako that Mitsuki eventually befriended their two other classmates.

It wasn't just in her social life that Miyako had proven to be a boon. In academics too, it was because of Miyako that Mitsuki found herself improving quickly.

It wasn't because Miyako tutored her or anything. It was because of one simple thing: Miyako was superior to her in basically every aspect of their education in Midgard, whether it was pure academics or dark matter control.

And because Mitsuki's competitive nature could not let that go, she strived to improve herself to become equal to, or even surpass Miyako.

She had yet to achieve that, but she was progressing quickly, to the point where she was able to join the rest of Brunhilde Class as members of the Dragon Subjugation Squad.

Just like that, her days in Midgard became brighter, and Mitsuki found herself enjoying them immensely, so much so that she was able to put aside her homesickness.

However, it was still a fact that the most integral part of her life was gone, and that was the cause of her current melancholy.

"Mitsuki?"

Ah, and there was aforementioned best friend right now.

"Miyako…" Mitsuki greeted her friend with a smile, but even she could tell that it was halfhearted.

"…Still thinking about your brother, huh?"

As expected of her best friend, Miyako easily deduced what was causing Mitsuki's depression.

"…Mm."

"Hm…I'm almost jealous, you know? Your brother is so important to you that you can barely function without him. You damn brocon, you!" Miyako teased her best friend with an impish smile.

"Miyako~!" Mitsuki whined in protest.

"Hahaha! I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Come on, let's go get lunch! Unless of course, you want to go through practical class on an empty stomach." Miyako smiled as she gently pulled Mitsuki by her hand.

"…Okay."

The two of them walked towards the cafeteria, talking about various topics relating to Ds, though Mitsuki's thoughts were more on her missing brother than anything else.

They paused when they reached the cafeteria.

The mood…was very heavy, and a lot of students were talking feverishly among each other as they gathered around the televisions placed around the cafeteria.

Each of the televisions were tuned in to different news channels, but each seemed to be reporting the same story.

"What's going on?" Miyako asked.

"I'm…not sure…" Mitsuki replied.

When the mood was like this and all of the news channels reported the same story, it could only be because of one of two reasons, or both.

First, a Dragon attack had occurred.

And the second…

"Mitsuki-san, Miyako-san!"

The two best friends turned to see their classmates, Lisa Highwalker and Firill Crest, hurrying towards them.

"Hey, what's going on?" Miyako asked Lisa, the older sister figure of the Brunhilde Class.

"A Heretic God has emerged in Spain!"

So, that was it after all.

Mitsuki shivered at the thought of those monsters.

The Blue Hekatonkheir had already terrified her enough with its sheer size and undying nature.

Just how monstrous did Heretic Gods have to be that Asgard thought of them as the greater danger?

"And there is someone fighting it!"

"Eh!?"

Now that was a shocker.

When a Heretic God attacked, the universally accepted response, even for members of NIFL, was to run like the hounds of Hell were on their tail.

Only the most stupidly courageous, arrogant or desperate of humans would choose to fight a Heretic God if they knew that was what it was.

"Who is it!?"

"Some boy that no one seems to know. But, whoever it is, he appears to be a member of NIFL."

The four members of the Brunhilde Class walked over to the least crowded of the televisions to watch the live footage being shot from afar by NIFL.

The area was on fire. That was all that could be described of the scene, because the features of the area were so heavily covered in flames that nothing else could be seen.

And they appeared to be spreading in a single direction.

The camera panned to see a part of the area, revealed to be a forest, that had yet to fall victim to the flames.

The camera zoomed in, and they caught sight of the Heretic God.

It took the form of an inhumanely handsome blonde man wearing white knight armor, wielding an ornate, flaming western sword in his right hand.

With a single swing of that sword, another section of the forest caught fire, lighting the area up like a collection of hellish Christmas trees.

Then, they caught sight of the boy purportedly fighting the Heretic God, a suicidal feat.

"Eh?"

The moment Mitsuki laid eyes on the boy desperately avoiding the Heretic God's movements while firing bullets, which instantly melted when they touched the monster, from a handgun, she let out a sound of utter shock.

"Mitsuki?" Miyako asked, her voice teeming with concern.

But, Mitsuki did not register her best friend's voice. Her attention was now completely focused on the boy.

The boy with a very familiar shade of blue hair and blue eyes.

He had grown taller and a bit more muscular since she last saw him, but there was no doubt as to his identity.

"Nii…-san…?" Mitsuki muttered, her mind black with shock.

The other three members of the Brunhilde Class turned to stare at her.

"Eh? That's…your brother? Mitsuki, are you sure?" Miyako asked.

Mitsuki nodded numbly.

Questions began to fill her head.

Why was her brother there and not here with her in Midgard?

Why was he a member of NIFL?

Why was he in _Spain_ of all places?

And most of all, _why was he fighting a Heretic God!?_

But, above all of that, Mitsuki prayed fervently.

She prayed that her brother would survive.

No matter how dim that hope might be.

* * *

Yuu was not in a good situation.

He hadn't been since the Heretic God appeared.

For one, his human-hunting personality/power, Fafnir, refused to activate.

It was natural, since Fafnir only hunted humans.

This thing, despite possessing the appearance of one, was most definitely _not_ a human.

Even so, he wished that Fafnir would activate all the same.

Once he had switched to Fafnir mode, his instincts and senses would become much sharper, and methods to fight this damn thing would come to him naturally, giving him and overall better likelihood of survival.

But, beggars couldn't be choosers. Fafnir was not activating, and Yuu would have to accept that.

He would have to make do with what he could do as he was.

But, what could a mere human do in the face of a God?

It was then that he noticed that said God had stopped in his assault, and was currently scratching his chin with a dissatisfied expression on his face.

"Hmm…This is not good. Tis difficult to feel satisfied when mine opponent only runs. Young warrior, thou hast challenged this knight to a duel, yet thou choose to run?" The Heretic God asked him with a half-offended, half-quizzical look on his face.

If Yuu weren't certain that he would be killed in the process, he would have wrung its neck in response to its callous words.

He was a puny human, and it was a being capable of wiping entire countries from the face of the planet. What other choice did he have but to run from it?

His indignation was quickly pushed aside by overwhelming fear when the Heretic God suddenly smiled dazzlingly at him.

Why did such a radiant expression do nothing but induce terror in him?

"Ah, perhaps this knight hath not yet used enough power to excite thee. Very well, bear witness to the splendor of this blade, young warrior!" The Heretic God declared as the flames surrounding his blade suddenly grew wilder than before.

Yuu barely had the time to duck when a massive arc of flames passed directly through the space his head had just vacated, the force so great that it _shattered_ the forested area behind him before incinerating it so thoroughly that not even ashes remained.

He gulped at the sight of the devastated landscape before turning back to look at the Heretic God, who had his sword outstretched, a wide smile on his face.

"Now then, young warrior, let us continue our duel!"

Yuu was immediately put on the defensive in the game of cat and mouse again.

However, it was on a completely different level from before. Yuu quickly found himself hard-pressed to keep dodging his attacks, and each strike of the sword came uncomfortably close to bifurcating him.

An evasive movement made just a split second too late saw his military vest catching fire as the blade nicked it, prompting Yuu to curse before creating a knife from dark matter to cut through the straps and toss it aside.

However, that action ended up becoming his downfall. Thought it had only taken one or two seconds for him to complete, it was an opening that the monster, possessing power far beyond human imagination, easily took advantage of.

Yuu suddenly found himself pinned against a tree, unable to move, with a searing sensation in his shoulder.

He looked to find the flaming sword stabbed through his shoulder into the trunk of the tree.

His mind finished processing, and a scream immediately erupted from his throat as he finally registered what it was he was feeling.

 _Pain._

 _Pain!Pain!Pain!PAIN!PAIN!SOMUCHPAIN!TOOMUCHPAIN!OHSHITHEWASGOINGTODIEFROMALLTHISPAIN!_

Yuu's mind began to shut down from the sheer agony of having a divine flaming sword stabbed into his puny mortal body, even as said sword was wrenched out.

He had no strength left in his body to even stand, much less continue his futile resistance, but the Heretic God paid that no mind and brought down his sword across Yuu's torso, lacerating him deeply from his left shoulder to his right hip.

If the pain he had already been experiencing was agony, then the pain he now experienced could only be aptly described as hellish torture.

Yuu collapsed to the ground, unable to remain standing. No blood poured out of the gaping wound in his shoulder or the deep cut on his torso, because the sheer heat of the blade had already cauterized them.

Miraculously, or perhaps the complete opposite, Yuu was still conscious.

On one hand, he was able to validate that he was not yet dead, somehow, despite receiving two direct blows from a Heretic God.

On the other hand, he had to deal with the pain radiating from the scorched hole in his shoulder and the cut across his torso, and the fact that he was at death's door, his executioner standing right in front of him.

He couldn't even muster the strength to look up at the Heretic God.

"Hm. For a mere human youngling, thou hast done well to survive this long against I, a Knight of the Round Table." The monster in the form of a knight spoke with a sincerely impressed tone.

In his state, Yuu could only think of those words as mockery, but those thoughts were pushed aside as his mind zoomed in on the last spoken words.

…What did he say? A Knight of the Round Table?

*BA-DUMP*

Yuu felt something resonate inside of him when his addled mind registered those words, and it caused a sudden change in the palpitations of his heart for a second before returning to normal.

"As a reward for the mettle thou hast shown, this knight shall execute with mine blade. Hear mine name, youngling, for it will be the last words thou shalt hear."

*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*

The rhythm of his heartbeat changed again, becoming more frequent and powerful, as though beating in excitement, before returning to its normal pace.

"Farewell, young warrior. Know that thy death came at the hands of Sir Gawain." The Heretic God spoke as he raised his sword.

*BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP* *BA-DUMP*

Yuu's mind registered the Heretic God's name at the same time that his heartbeat accelerated to dangerous levels.

However, despite the increase in blood pumping through his veins, Yuu's consciousness was still slowly fading, likely because a good number of those blood vessels had been severed and cauterized by the monster's attacks.

Until something happened, and the white fog clouding his mind vanished, to be replaced by sudden clarity.

* * *

The entire student body of Midgard, along with around half of the faculty, was stunned into silence as they witnessed a human boy being impaled by the weapon of one of the most dangerous beings in existence.

That silence was shattered abruptly by a shrill scream, causing all of them to jump in fright.

A scream that Mononobe Mitsuki had let out.

It was only natural.

She had just witnessed her loved one being cornered and struck down by a monster of monsters, and now lay unmoving on the ground as said monster stood over him.

The only conclusion was that he was dead. Dead or dying.

Unable to take the sight of her most beloved person in such a state, Mononobe Mitsuki's mind, much like her brother's hundreds of miles away, shut down, and she fainted.

"Mitsuki!" Miyako shouted in concern as she caught her best friend's unconscious form, their other two classmates rushing to help her.

She waved her hand in front of Mitsuki's face, looking for any sort of response.

Nothing. She was completely out cold.

This was not good. Being Mitsuki's best friend, Miyako was likely the only one who knew just how much her brother meant to her.

If he died, then…

Miyako looked back up at the television screen, a look of desperation on her face…

…Which quickly morphed into one of shock when she registered what was now being shown by the news channel.

* * *

*CLANG*

If Yuu looked up at that moment, he would have seen the look of unadulterated shock on Heretic God Gawain's face as the divine flaming sword he was wielding was stopped mid-swing by a dagger Yuu had created from dark matter after abruptly standing up when he should not have been able to.

It didn't look anything like the standard military knives Yuu had been throwing at it earlier. Instead of a straight metal blade, this dagger looked and felt like it had been fashioned from the fang of some large carnivorous animal.

It certainly didn't look any more durable than the knives that had melted instantly upon contact with Gawain.

Yet, it was stopping the weapon of a Heretic God. It wasn't even melting from the sheer heat Gawain was emitting, nor was it faltering in the face of the Heretic God's inhuman strength.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Yuu's hand. The skin began to bubble and liquefy due to its proximity to the heat, revealing the muscles beneath.

But, Yuu felt no pain anymore. Not from the heat blasting him from the front, not from the still smoking hole in his shoulder and the gash along his body, and not from his melting hand.

Pain had been discarded in favor of clarity beyond human limits.

Yuu felt similar to the way he did when Fafnir activated. Power flowed into his body when there should have been none left, all pain had faded away to nothing, and the world seemed to have slowed around him.

But, he knew that could not be what this was. Fafnir would only activate when faced with a human, and even the threat of impending death would not be able to bring it out otherwise.

What was this?

Yuu did not have much more time to ponder, because at that moment, information began to flow into his mind.

He saw moving images in his head.

The first was of a very muscular giant of a dark-skinned man with rough features, messy black hair and coal black eyes, completely naked, and armed with a crude stone spear and an equally crude stone sword, charging into battle against a tribe of savages.

It quickly transited to an image of a much thinner, but still muscular, man of a slightly shorter stature and light skin, with black hair and green eyes, wielding a spear, this time one that was more refined and metallic, though still more primitive than medieval age spears, and an ornate metal shield, donned in Greek armor with a red-plumed helmet, a short sword sheathed at his waist, riding a horse-drawn chariot as he led an invasion against a ruined citadel.

It changed again, this time to an image of a man who looked similar to the man in the previous image, but with smoother features, and blonde hair instead of black, dressed in ceremonial robes, wielding a shining spear with a split tip and a beautiful sword that seemed to have streams of wind curling around its blade, the sun directly behind him.

It switched once more, to the image of a man nearly identical to the one depicted in the previous, wielding a red spear with a barbed tip, radiating an aura of pure malice, a tool made for the sole purpose of killing. He also wielded the same sword that the previous man did.

Finally, one final image floated into Yuu's mind. The difference was that this one seemed to be much longer than the others. It depicted the man in the previous image, kneeling in defeat, looking up at the silhouette of another man, presumably the one who had defeated him, with an expression of awe and humbled admiration. His pose then changed to one of submission, kneeling on one knee before the other man, who knighted him with a tap each on his shoulders with a sword of indeterminate form.

The defeated man followed his defeater as a subordinate, going through many battles at his side, gaining numerous allies as they did.

Eventually, the defeated man proceeded to don the armor of a white knight, sealing away his favored spear in favor of the same type of weapon the other had used to defeat him: a sword. His features became gentler and more handsome than before, and Yuu mentally started when he realized that this man was the Heretic God he was currently fighting, Gawain.

From here on, Yuu was able to name some of the people he saw through deduction, because the Matter of Britain was so famous even Yuu knew of it, especially King Arthur's era.

As one of the Knights of the Round Table, Gawain continued to serve at his lord's side loyally, gaining victory after victory…until their harmony was shattered by two simultaneous betrayals in their ranks, that of Sir Lancelot, who had fallen in love with Queen Guinevere, and that of Sir Mordred, who attempted to usurp the throne of Camelot.

When Guinevere was about to be executed for her betrayal, Lancelot charged in to save her and ended up slaying many of his former comrades, including ones that Gawain called his brothers.

This turned Gawain's friendship with Lancelot into hatred, and even when Lancelot repented and attempted to aid their lord in his final battle, Gawain interfered and refused to accept Lancelot's aid, resulting in a battle where Gawain was mortally wounded.

It was only on Gawain's deathbed that he finally let go of his hatred and forgave Lancelot and asked for forgiveness in return.

That was the story of Heretic God Gawain.

The images finally stopped, and Yuu returned to reality, where it seemed no time had passed while he was processing the images.

He instinctively knew what those images had been, and while he still had plenty of questions about what was going on, he knew what he had to do.

Defeat Heretic God Gawain.

Said Heretic God got over his shock and smiled radiantly again at Yuu.

But, this time, Yuu did not feel any instinctive jolt of fear.

"Wonderful! Wonderful, young warrior! Thine mettle is unlike any other human this knight has ever encountered! This one apologizes for presuming thee defeated! Come, let us resume our duel!" Heretic God Gawain declared in elation.

He withdrew his sword and prepared to swing it once more, but against all logic and reason, Yuu moved faster than he did and cleaved through the Heretic God's right gauntlet, causing shards of metal to go flying.

The one who was known as the most chivalrous of the Knights of the Round Table stopped his attack in shock and stared at his damaged gauntlet and the new hole in it.

Then, he stared at Yuu.

"Hm! Well done, young warrior! To scratch mine armor is no easy task!"

He smiled, not the same radiant smile that he had shown already, but a far more primal, hungry smile, as though he was a carnivore that had caught sight of juicy prey.

However, he would find that Yuu had fangs of his own too.

Yuu and Gawain clashed again, only this time, Yuu was keeping up with Gawain, parrying swings of the flaming sword while having his own strikes stopped as well.

It appeared to be an even battle, but Yuu knew he was losing.

His entire body was not only being slowly seared and melted from the close proximity to the absurd heat Gawain was emitting, he was fighting with power far beyond his limit right now.

Even though he felt no pain or strain, he could still feel his entire physical being screaming as it was torn apart at its foundations by the power it could not contain, the power that was forcing it to perform well past its limits.

Yuu was dying. Slowly, but surely.

He was way past the point of no return.

Whether or not he managed to win against Gawain, death was inevitable.

But, even so, Yuu kept fighting.

Fighting to win.

And he now had the means.

"…I know who you are!" Yuu spoke with no conscious effort. The words were simply flowing out of his mouth.

In his current state, he was able to identify what those images, which seemingly had no connection to each other until the last few, he had been seeing earlier were.

Information.

Information that was being fed to him from an outside source, much like Yggdrasil, just less detailed and a bit incoherent without context, but also without the whole 'losing memories' bit.

"Heretic God Gawain started out as a nameless God of War of one of the many nameless pantheons in ancient Africa, during an age where no other true form of communication other than verbal had been invented. Perhaps he did possess a name, but it was long lost in the annals of time."

There was a small, almost intangible shift in the rhythm of the battle, causing it to shift in Yuu's favor ever so slightly as Gawain gained a look of slight surprise on his face, though his smile did not shift in the slightest.

It was a boon, but it had not been the intended effect when Yuu spoke. He was simply verbalizing the information he had received to process it faster.

And as he spoke, perhaps it was just his imagination, but he could have sword that he felt a surge of energy from the dagger he had spontaneously created from dark matter.

"Time passed, and the nameless tribe that worshipped him crossed the vast ocean and integrated themselves into the Etruscan people, who adopted said nameless pantheon along with many others. Praising the nameless God of War who had won countless battles, they bestowed upon him a name. Thus, he became Achle, the invincible hero, his aspect of War turning into that of Steel."

This time, there was a definite shift in the tides of the battle. Gawain's smile had slipped slightly, making it look rather strained, and it showed in his swordsmanship.

His attacks had been absolutely perfect before, a level of mastery that a human could never hope to obtain even after an entire lifetime of training.

Now, there was an infinitesimally small deviation in the arc of his swings. It was still far more skillful than even the most devoted of human swordsman, past or present, but it was inferior to what it had been before.

Before, Yuu would not have been able to tell the difference, but in his current state, where his senses and instincts were raised to superhuman level, capable of keeping up with a Heretic God, it was an advantage he did not hesitate to make use of.

Yuu swung the dagger that seemed to have grown sharper that it had been before, clashing it with Gawain's sword and sending it and the arm swinging it flying back with great force.

For the first time since Yuu had challenged Gawain, Yuu had actually managed to force the Heretic God to take a step back.

Even with the change in the rhythm of the fight, Yuu did not let up, because he knew that even in his current state, one little mistake would get him killed.

"The Etruscans would later be assimilated into the Greeks, who adopted Achle as one of their greatest heroes, the legendary hero of the Trojan War! Achle became Achilles, son of a Greek Goddess of Water, Thetis, and a human king, Peleus, gaining the aspect of Water!" Yuu continued, his voice rising in volume.

Yuu's oddly-shaped dagger, which seemed to have suddenly grown by a half-inch and releasing a more ominous aura than before, cut through empty air in the next instant.

Gawain had jumped back to avoid getting caught up in Yuu's pace.

His smile had completely vanished, and his stance was much tenser than before.

A tingling sensation along Yuu's spine caused him to roll aside, saving his life as Gawain's flaming sword stabbed where his heart had just been.

Yuu got to his feet, only to be forced to dodge again as Gawain swung down his sword at his head.

And once more, before Yuu could even get up, he had to push himself backwards to avoid a downward strike that shattered the ground before immolating it.

If Yuu had the luxury to do so, he would be truly amazed. Gawain had not yet been using his full power?

If the circumstances were different, he could have appreciated just how wide the gap between a human and a Heretic God was.

But right now, he was less concerned about the gap, and more concerned about how to bridge it.

It was simple.

He needed more power.

As though responding to his thoughts, Yuu felt the world slow down even further. The interval between each crackle and flicker of the flames engulfing the area increased to an almost painfully slow pace. The hot air that had been blowing Yuu in the face ever so slowly seemed to have stopped entirely.

Even Gawain had slowed down to a speed where Yuu was now able to perceive his movements again.

The Heretic God was running towards him, his sword held in a stance meant for stabbing. By the angle of the blade, he was most likely aiming for Yuu's sternum.

He could work with that.

Gawain thrust his blade towards the center of Yuu's chest, just as he had predicted.

Having successfully read ahead, Yuu easily parried the blow, knocking the blade aside with a loud clang and got to his feet, resuming his attack on Gawain, who barely managed to bring his sword back to defend.

The Heretic God's expression became strained as his opponent once again became inexplicably stronger and faster.

"Despite Achilles's continuous victories, the age of Greece still ended soon after the Trojan War, where Achilles was defeated by the Trojan prince, Paris, and the Achaeans decimated at the hands of the very Gods they had worshipped in punishment for the desecration of their temples in Troy, giving rise to the Roman Empire! Resentful of Achilles's role in the near destruction of the Roman Empire before it could even begin, the Romans cast him aside when they assimilated the Greek Gods into their own belief system! After crossing the ocean once more, he was soon taken in by the Celtics! Awed by his heroism, they worshipped him as their most important deity! Thus, the Greek Achilles became the Celtic Lugh, the King of the Celtic Gods, his aspect of Water involving into that of Storm, and gaining the aspect of Sun! His nameless spear became the radiant Brionac, possessing the power of the Sun, and his nameless sword became Fragarach, possessing the power of wind, the symbols and weapons of a King!"

Gawain's look of shock returned, and he almost halted in his attack, allowing Yuu the opening he needed to land a blow on the knight's chest plate with his now slightly blood red-tinted dagger.

A gash appeared across the chest plate, and the force of the blow caused Gawain to stumble backwards.

But, despite the advantage, Yuu was aware that something was wrong.

When he struck Gawain's gauntlet, and when he landed a blow on his chest plate just now, there should have been enough force to break through the metal _and_ drawblood from the Heretic God's body beneath.

But, there wasn't any blood, not even a single drop.

Something inside Yuu was telling him that it wasn't because he was misjudging the force he put into his attacks, but because of something else, an innate ability of the Heretic God that prevented him from being wounded.

Was this one of the so-called 'Authorities' that Heretic Gods were said to possess, powers shaped by their legends?

Just as he was pondering this, another problem presented itself.

Were Yuu in his normal state, he would have panicked when his vision began to blur and darken when it should not have, considering the amount of adrenaline that was pumping in his body at the moment.

However, his current state allowed him to cut unnecessary emotion, and he was able to calmly and rationally trace the source of the problem.

His body was breaking down even faster than before, likely a result of using an even greater level of power to keep up with a now serious Gawain. His eyes had lost almost half of their functionality, half the bones in his body had lost a good amount of their mass and were on the verge of breaking, and several of his internal organs were being cooked by the inhuman power he was exerting.

Yuu was dying, even though it would not be obvious from the way he was fighting. Most likely, at this point, he had less than 10 minutes before his body broke down to the point where even the power he was using would not be able to allow him to move.

Yuu needed to land a fatal blow, and soon.

However, Yuu did not believe for an instant that that was the limit of Gawain's power. He was probably still keeping a good amount hidden in case he needed it.

If Gawain got the opportunity to use that power, Yuu would lose in an instant.

His body would be destroyed completely if he tried to use any more power than this, so the only option was to find a way to circumvent whatever power was causing his attacks to have no effect on Gawain's actual body.

And to do that, he needed to understand Gawain's true nature.

Yuu rushed at Gawain, who had been momentarily stunned by the force that had damaged his once pristine armor.

"However, after his ascension to the status of King, Lugh found himself growing dissatisfied with his place! At his core, he was a warrior, not a ruler, and his bound duty to rule and not to fight became a burden to him! Thus, he descended from his throne and became the legendary hero, Lugh's own son, Cu Chulainn, the Hound of Ulster! His radiant five-pointed spear, Brionac, possessing the power of the sun of which Lugh held dominion over, became the demonic cursed spear that granted death with a single, infallible blow, Gae Bolg!" Yuu spoke at a faster pace than before, wanting to hurry processing the information before his body finally hit its limit.

Gawain raised his sword as Yuu stabbed at him with his dagger, which had elongated again.

Sparks flew as the fang-like dagger and the divine sword clashed, neither weapon giving way to the other.

However, this stalemate was ideal to him.

Yuu grabbed Gawain's neck with his free hand. The extremity had already melted and scorched down enough to reveal his damaged muscular structure that was tenuously connected to the bones beneath, just barely enough to force his fingers to close around the Heretic God's nape.

Uncaring that his hand was now being broken down by the sheer heat now that it was in direct contact with Gawain, Yuu continued.

"Eventually, Cu Chulainn would travel to Wales, where he would meet another Heretic God, Artus! His lust for battle overcoming his instincts that warned him of the superior warrior that the other Heretic God was, Cu Chulainn challenged Artus and was defeated after a fierce battle! Awed by Artus's power, Cu Chulainn swore loyalty to him, and became Gwalchmei, the Hero God of the Sun, and Artus's nephew! He sealed his beloved spear, Gae Bolg, in favor of the weapon Artus had used to defeat him, the sword, and thus began to use Fragarach as his primary weapon! Through the shaping of Gwalchmei's legend and his status as a God of the Sun, Fragarach underwent another transformation and became Galatine, a divine sword that possesses the power of the Sun, like Brionac and Gae Bolg before it, in addition to its original power over wind!"

Gawain began to look truly panicked, a far cry from his composed self at the beginning, and his serious self up until this point.

"O Immortal Sun, let thine divine light shine upon mine blade!" Gawain began to incant.

Yuu immediately felt a surge of power coming from the Heretic God, and an even greater amount from the sword, Galatine.

He did not know what it was Gawain was planning on doing, but Yuu instinctively knew that he could not allow him to continue, or he would lose the advantage he had managed to gain.

*POP*

*CRACK*

With a sickening pop and crack, Yuu purposely dislocated his shoulder and wrist to slam his elbow into the side of Gawain's head. The bones in said part of his limb, already brittle from the intense heat and the power Yuu was exerting, shattered from the force of the blow.

Yuu's grip on the Heretic God's neck faltered, but he had succeeded in stunning Gawain, interrupting the incantation.

However, he would soon recover. Before that happened, Yuu needed to finish. He was already at the last stretch.

"Through modernization and amalgamation of differing stories passed down by bards and storytellers, Gwalchmei would eventually be modernized into his current incarnation, the most chivalrous of the Knights of the Round Table, a gathering of Artus's 12 most loyal and strongest followers, led by Artus, modernized as Arthur, himself! A God of the Sun, Storms and Steel! That is the truth of the Heretic God, Gawain!" Yuu declared as he then performed a move that was either the height of bravery, or of foolishness.

With all of the might he could muster, Yuu…slammed his forehead against Gawain's, one of the few spots on the Heretic God's body that wasn't protected by armor.

"Mmph!?" Gawain grunted from the concussive force that would have doubtlessly destroyed his head in a messy shower of blood and gore if he was an ordinary human.

His inherent hardiness as a divine being beyond humanity and whatever was protecting him from injury prevented him from receiving anything more than a headache, but the blow had caused him to stumble backwards again, allowing Yuu to lash at him with his dagger, now radiating an aura of sheer bloodlust, like _a predator preparing to devour its prey_.

Gawain let out a cry of both shock and pain as the dagger completely passed through whatever defense was protecting his physical body and open a deep gash on his chest, shedding a good deal of blood.

And even more importantly, accomplished something that could only be considered a stroke of incredible, almost impossible, good fortune for Yuu.

 _Gawain dropped Galatine._

Yuu's heightened instincts screamed at him that his long-awaited opportunity had finally come.

Rushing towards the falling divine sword, he dropped the fang-shaped dagger, which had returned to its original state when Yuu had first created it and _vanished without a trace_ once it had fallen out of his peripheral vision.

With his left hand that had been wielding the dagger up until now, Yuu gripped Galatine's handle as it fell from Gawain's hand.

Immediately, the divine sword ignited in a blaze of white hot flames, burning away at Yuu's body, but concentrating against the limb that had taken hold of it.

An act of rebellion against someone who was not its true master.

However, Yuu had no time to deal with its insolence. His instincts were telling him that the timing was perfect.

 _Gawain could be killed now._

And as Yuu processed the information he had received, the origins and history of Heretic God Gawain, he understood why.

Yuu lifted Galatine with an inordinate amount of effort considering his beyond human power in his current state, likely another way for the divine sword to defy him.

However, he managed to raise the blade to the right height and angle, chest level and parallel to the ground.

Gawain regained his footing, and looked up, only to see Yuu right in front of him, with _his_ sword in hand.

Yuu thrust Galatine towards the Heretic God's sternum for a fatal blow.

It could not have been accomplished with the dagger, because for all of its ability to stand up against a Heretic God's power, the dagger had a fundamental problem.

The blade was too short to land a fatal blow to a Heretic God, especially if it had to pierce through thick armor first.

However, with a straight western sword like Galatine, Yuu could kill Gawain.

Yuu did not know this, but as Gawain watched the tip of his own blade approaching him from a distance that was just too short and at a speed that was just too fast for even a Heretic God to avoid, he saw a silhouette emerge for an instant around the boy who had challenged him.

A silhouette of a truly gargantuan canine creature, its massive jowls wide open as it lunged at him, as though preparing to swallow him whole.

For the first time since he had fought Artus so many years ago, Gawain felt fear.

*SQUELCH*

Gawain stared at his own sword that had perforated his armor and torso and gone all the way through, tearing through his spinal column.

Even a Heretic God could not survive a wound like this, especially not one dealt with a divine weapon.

Even if it was their own.

"…Some legends concerning the end of Achilles's and Gawain's lives spoke of their final battles, Achilles with Paris during the siege of Troy, and Gawain with Lancelot during the Battle of Camlann. Having been bathed in the River Styx by his mother, Thetis, Achilles was rendered invulnerable to all attacks except those to his right heel, the only part that hadn't been touched by the cursed water of the Styx. Thus, Apollo guided Paris's arrow to strike Achilles in his only weak spot, resulting in his immediate death. Similarly, Gawain could not be wounded as long as the sun hung in the air. Lancelot, having been Gawain's closest friend before his betrayal, knew that better than anyone else. So, he waited until the sun had set before dealing a single, decisive blow against Gawain that would eventually take his life. When I saw that my attacks were failing to draw blood, I thought that that one of the two legends might have something to do with it. I didn't have the time or the luxury to search for your single weak spot if your protection was based on the legend of Achilles, so when I saw that the sun had set here as well, I took my chances and decided to give it a try. I'm glad that my hunch paid off." Yuu spoke calmly.

He did not mention that his instincts were telling him that it was Gawain's legend that formed the basis of the power that protected him from harm.

After all, his dagger could only pierce through that power when Yuu had fully comprehended the legend of Gawain, not that of Achilles.

Gawain did not seem to register his words, and continued to stare at the blade embedded in his sternum with an unreadable expression.

Gawain was doubtlessly defeated, so there was no longer any point in keeping up his current state.

Yuu did not know whether this state could be switched on and off at will like he could with Fafnir, but a simple test proved that it could.

He took one step forward after returning to his normal state…

…And he immediately vomited blood and collapsed after doing so.

Pain.

That was all he could feel. The pain from being immolated by Gawain's power and Galatine's flames. The pain from having his hands burnt so badly that the nerves inside had been exposed to open air. The pain from his shattered bones. The pain of having his entire physical being falling apart in the aftermath of the power he had used.

It made the pain that he had experienced from being struck twice by Gawain while still in his normal state look like paradise in comparison, but Yuu was already so exhausted, so close to death that he didn't have the strength to do anything more than twitch on the spot.

Yuu's already blurry vision faded to black completely. His body felt like lead. His consciousness was fading away.

This was it. Yuu was going to die.

Even though he won against a Heretic God, he was still going to die in the end.

It was official. Pyrrhic victories sucked.

Still, he couldn't help but feel that there was something he was forgetting.

Something about humans defeating Gods…

It was no use. He couldn't remember. Everything was a complete black. He could barely recall his own name, age and birthday, much less extraneous information like that.

…Ah, but there was one name that was still very clear even in his addled mind.

The name of the most important person in the world to him.

"…Mitsuki…Sorry…"

He apologized to the girl he loved more than anyone else in the world, even though he didn't really know what it was he was apologizing for.

Then, his consciousness faded as well.

Mononobe Yuu would be dead in less than a minute.

* * *

Gawain did not need to look behind him to know that his opponent was dying.

He was a Heretic God after all. Sensing life forces was something rather rudimentary to them.

There was no point in celebrating his opponent's death. Gawain was not the type to take pleasure in killing his enemies, no matter how much animosity he felt towards them, whether it was on a personal level, or out of mere principle.

And Gawain would be joining him soon after all.

Gawain looked down at the blade, _his_ blade, piercing his chest.

The blade had gone through his armor, pierced his chest, perforated his heart and both lungs, and severed his spinal column.

A fatal wound, even to Heretic Gods.

Such a wound would usually be of no consequence to Gawain, because he had an Authority that allowed him to heal any wound short of death, and could even bring him back to life if he invoked it before receiving his fatal wound.

But, it was already too late. Gawain was already dying, and he couldn't invoke it now that the sun, his dominion, was no longer present in the sky above.

If he had invoked it at the beginning of the duel, he would have survived.

His arrogance had cost him this duel, and his life. Because his opponent had been a human, Gawain had not taken him seriously, despite claiming that they would have an honorable duel.

Gawain snorted in derision. What honor was there in belittling his opponent? He had broken the code of chivalry that the Knights of the Round Table had sworn to follow. He was no better than that accursed traitor, Mordred.

Gawain smiled. At least, he had been taught humility before his end. His opponent hadn't exactly been honorable in his fighting methods either, not fighting him face to face, and using Gawain's past as a means of fighting, but Gawain would be hypocritical to criticize his opponent.

It was a lesson well deserved, and he needed to thank his opponent for it.

He turned his head to regard the soon-to-be corpse of his opponent, a wretched, ruined thing, yet resplendent and magnificent in Gawain's eyes, even now, when nearly bereft of life.

"Ah." Gawain uttered a sound as he realized something.

He did not know his opponent's name.

He hadn't even bothered to ask.

Gawain smiled wryly. Just another reason why it was only fitting that he lost here.

Then, the world transformed around Gawain.

He was no longer in the devastated forest where he and his opponent had just fought.

He was somewhere else, a realm of nonsensical, kaleidoscopic colors.

He felt a presence.

That of a God.

Not a Heretic God, but a True God.

How was that possible? Gods could not manifest in their true form in the material plane. Not even his lord, Artus, was capable of such a feat, in spite of his power.

Was it a remnant? The last vestiges of a True God's power, embedded in an artifact of sorts that had been sent to the material plane?

No, the presence was too powerful for that.

So, what was this?

Gawain's eyes widened when he saw the ethereal image of a young girl with purple hair tied into pigtails, green eyes, pointed ears, red orb-like earrings, dressed in a white dress, smiling down at the near corpse of his opponent with affection.

Motherly affection.

He recognized her immediately. How could he not recognize the Witch who had cursed the Gods?

Pandora, the Witch, who had, in utter defiance of her own kind, performed an ancient ritual to allow humans to combat the Gods themselves.

The Circle of Usurpation, Pandora's Authority that allowed her to take the Authorities of slain Heretic Gods and bestow them upon the human who had done the deed, turning them into God Slayers, her bastard children.

It was only just then that Gawain realized that he and his opponent fulfilled those prerequisites.

Then, this could only be the place where the Witch dwelled, the site where she would bring forth her newest child.

Gawain felt no outrage at the impending violation of his divinity and domains.

In fact, he could only feel elation.

"Hmph…Hahahahaha! Very well then, Witch! Take as much as thou wishes and gift them to thine son! It is only fitting after all! A warrior deserves to take spoils from his opponent in memory of a fine battle! Young warrior whose name this knight regrettably knows not! This knight accepts his defeat! Grow stronger, young warrior! Face more Gods, and pillage their powers as thou please! Do not die until this one returns to challenge thee! On that occasion, this knight wishes for a true, honorable duel to the death!" Gawain declared as he felt his being break down and return back to the Domain of Immortality, the dwelling place of all things divine.

Pandora smiled at him, and then waved a hand in his direction.

Immediately, Gawain felt his sense of self being rendered asunder as Pandora took a portion of his divinity, his Authorities, from him to give to her newest son.

He endured the horrible sensation of metaphysical violation.

It was no great loss to be honest.

To say that his Authorities were being stolen was a bit inaccurate. True, the Authorities of his current incarnation were being taken from him, and if he somehow managed to live, he would not be able to use them anymore.

However, Authorities were powers given shaped by the individual God's legends.

Gawain was now returning to his legend. Thus, he would eventually regain his lost power, unless the legend surrounding Gawain were to change.

That's right, this was nothing more than helping to sharpen his opponent's fangs for the next time they met.

" _Fangs"_ , Gawain chortled in his mind, _"How appropriate."_

For the weapon that his opponent had unleashed against him could only be described as a fang, a fang created to kill Gods.

With that last thought, meant to entertain himself, Gawain departed from the mortal plane.

* * *

Yuu slowly became aware that his consciousness had returned, however fuzzy and unfocused it was.

His first thing he noticed was that he could no longer feel the beyond excruciating pain that had been wracking his body just before he passed out.

He immediately wondered if he was dead and in some kind of afterlife, because that was the only way he could think of to explain why he was conscious, but not feel the pain from all of the wounds he had received.

Then, he realized that he couldn't move a muscle.

He was stuck in a lying down face up position, with his head slightly elevated, as though it were resting atop of something that was not the ground.

He cracked his eyes open, to find himself staring at kaleidoscopic colors, and wondered if he was actually alive, but had been dozed with psychotropic drugs and tranquilizers while he was out cold.

That was when he felt small, dainty hands gently running through his hair.

His eyeballs rolled up higher to catch sight of the owner of those hands.

His blurry vision didn't help things, but he could vaguely make out a small feminine figure with what appeared to be purple hair and a white dress.

"Ah, I see you've awoken." The person spoke in what was unmistakably a female voice, one belonging to a teenage girl.

However, there was something in her tone that could only be described as…motherly.

He briefly wondered how he remembered what a motherly voice would sound like, considering that he had no memories of anyone other than Mitsuki.

"Though I have lived for countless eons, humanity never fails to surprise me. Who would have thought that a child as young as you would fulfill my ritual?" The girl continued to speak.

Despite her apparent age from her voice, she was possibly the wisest-sounding person Yuu had ever met, commanding his attention with just her words.

"Very well! I, Pandora, the All-Giving Woman, the Witch who brought forth all disasters and a single shred of hope, accept you as my newest, youngest child! Let everyone present grant their blessing and hatred to this child! The Seventh Campione, who shall bear the destiny of the youngest devil king! Please bestow upon this child the sacred words of power! Mononobe Yuu, through the act of slaying a God, I grant my blessing to you! I declare that you shall be reborn as a child, born of a Fool and a Witch!" The girl declared with happiness in her voice.

In the next instant, Yuu felt _something_ enter his body, enveloping his body in comfortable heat…quickly followed by something else exiting his body.

"Oh, how interesting! So, Gaia has laid claim to you before, has she? Ufufufu, well then, I guess it's her loss, for you are now my child. That thing she gave you before…well, I suppose I'll leave it in that dreary place. Of course, I'll hide it so some other poor human won't accidently stumble upon it. If you truly need it, then simply return to the place of your rebirth and take it back." The girl exclaimed.

Yuu felt his body growing lighter, and this place, wherever this was, growing more blurred…more distant.

"As for that thing the overgrown weed put inside you, I got rid of it! What kind of mother would I be if I allowed such a thing to be left in my child? And the other power…well, at first, I wanted to get rid of it too, but it looks like you've truly made that power your own! But, don't use it lightly. I think you'll find it harder to use from now on than it was today! If you want to make full use of it, you should hurry and pluck that weed!"

The girl's voice became more and more distant.

"Farewell for now. I'm sure that we will meet again in the future. Take care, my youngest child, who shall bear the greatest destiny of all God Slayers."

Then, she was gone, and so was he.

* * *

In the depths of an old castle in Hungary, an old man who was more wolf than human perked up and stared out of the window.

In her shrine atop a mountain in China, a beautiful Chinese woman laughed uproariously, terrifying her subordinates, none more so than her apprentice.

Outside a mansion in Alexandria, an Indian woman paused as she was about to step into a portal.

In London, having just left a meeting with the White Princess, a dark-skinned man twitched and sighed in irritation.

In a bar in Los Angeles, a bespectacled woman dressed in a formal wear paused in sipping her glass of whiskey.

In Siena, a blonde man who was fishing whooped in joy, scaring any potential catches away.

None of them had seen it for themselves, but all of them felt it.

The birth of the Seventh of their brethren.

* * *

The students and faculty of Midgard was once more stunned into silence.

They had just witnessed the defeat of a Heretic God at the hands of a human, a boy, no less.

That much, they understood.

They had seen the boy use what was unmistakably Dark Matter Generation. Impossible as it seemed, it proved that the boy was a D.

The world's only known male D.

Those who knew Mononobe Mitsuki well enough could deduce that the boy was probably the brother she had been looking for.

Then, they witnessed the boy collapsing, blood pouring out of every orifice in his shattered body.

The Heretic God, kneeling in defeat with his own weapon through his chest, dispersed into golden dust which enveloped the boy, causing his destroyed body to fully regenerate, with not a single scratch on him.

That was the part that stumped them a little.

After all, the death of a Heretic God was something that had never been publicized like this before.

One, the number of confirmed Heretic God deaths were still in the single digits, owing to the fact that there were only 6 beings in the world that even stood a chance of killing one in the first place, 2 of whom hardly left their abode and 1 of whom was currently missing.

Two, Heretic God emergences were sudden and completely without warning, unlike in the case of most Dragon disasters. By the time anyone got around to recording it, it was already either gone or dead.

This was the first time the death of a Heretic God had ever been recorded, not to mention shown to a large group of people.

However, there was one thing that the entire world knew.

Humans who killed Heretic Gods became Campione.

If that were the case here, then…

The reason for their silence was simple.

They had just witnessed the birth of the Seventh Campione.

* * *

And this prologue is complete! There is so much more I still have to explain, but I feel that that can be done over the next few chapters. It certainly seems like a better idea than throwing everything into one chapter.

As you can see, this is a merging of the 2 verses.

This prologue takes place 2.5 years before the start of Unlimited Fafnir canon, and 2 years before the start of Campione canon. In short, Miyako isn't dead yet, Haruka is still a D, Tia hasn't been kidnapped by Kili yet, and Godou is not yet a Campione, which is why Yuu bears the title of Seventh Campione instead.

As some of you may have surmised from Pandora's words, Yuu has undergone several changes, causing him to differ greatly from canon.

First, and the most obvious, Yuu is now a Campione, meaning that even just considering his new base stats, he's already much stronger than his canon self.

Adding his Authorities into the mix, and he'll be more than a match for most Dragons, as well as put him on par with other powerful Heretic Gods.

Second, Yggdrasil's virus has been removed from Yuu's head. Since all Campione are healed to their optimal state upon their transformation, Yggdrasil's virus, which was a detriment, was removed, terminating his link toYggdrasil.

Third, the power of Neun has also left his body. Because Yuu has been transformed into a Campione, he is no longer compatible with Neun's power. He can still steal the powers of Dragons like he did in canon, but he has to kill them first, and the powers will be modified to fit with his Campione nature. Neun's power will play a more important role in much later chapters.

Last is the power he used against Gawain. This is a mutation of Fafnir, thus he can no longer use the normal Fafnir, but considering he is now a being far, far more powerful than any human, its loss is a rather moot point. I will not go into any further details than this, because it will be explained in future chapters. As for its name, it's in the title of this story.

Do not expect detailed histories for Heretic Gods like the one I did for Gawain. This will be a rather rare occurrence, only reserved for Heretic Gods that Yuu cannot defeat on his own, and only after a certain event happens in this story.

Next chapter, Yuu and the rest of the world come to grips with his new status.

That's all for now. As always, please read and review.


	2. Chapter 1: Wrath of the Seventh

I'm back!

Let's get this started!

* * *

The border between Germany and Denmark. It was once a bustling area, being the only stretch of land that connected the two countries.

However, 23 years ago, it was closed down completely and the surrounding area within a 4 kilometer radius, including the airspace above, quarantined by Asgard, cutting off the two countries from each other land-wise.

Why? Because the Green Dragon, Green Yggdrasil, decided to settle down right on top of the border.

Furthermore, it released a powerful electromagnetic field, causing all electronic devices to completely fail within its boundaries.

NIFL mobilized immediately to neutralize the threat, or at least force it back into the mountains, but since vehicles could not approach it, they had to move on foot, which left them open to attacks by Yggdrasil's mobile roots, causing the deaths of dozens of soldiers.

Larger weapons with greater range like missiles inexplicably malfunctioned when they neared Yggdrasil, veering off course and missing the target completely while causing damage to the surroundings.

It was an odd occurrence, because while they were certainly more technologically advanced than normal firearms, their system wasn't anywhere near as complicated as say, an airplane's navigational and autopilot system.

Rather than just electronic devices, it appeared that anything that ran on electricity malfunctioned in Yggdrasil's vicinity.

With no ways to fight it, NIFL was forced to retreat, and humans had to abandon the border.

It was a bit hard on businesses and local tourists who frequently crossed the border, but with time, they were able to adapt using other means of transportation.

And since Yggdrasil showed no signs of moving from its position, Asgard decided to leave it alone until they had a way to deal with it.

Now, 23 years later, Yggdrasil still stood in the exact same position, now having grown to a monstrous height of 500 meters, with the range of its electromagnetic field extending to almost 2 kilometers.

There wasn't a single human in the area, with the exceptions of the few NIFL personnel who had been tasked with observing Yggdrasil.

Like every day for the past 23 years, they had nothing to report other than its growth.

However, today, there was something different about Yggdrasil, though humans would not be able to notice it.

The Green Dragon was in a slight panic.

[Error. Intrusion in Akashic Records detected. Connection terminated. Unable to trace intruder.]

[Error. Connection to Neun terminated. Unable to reestablish. Immediate ratification required. Searching Akashic Records for Neun's last known location…]

[Found. Area: Iberian Peninsula. Connecting to terminals at location…]

[Error. All terminals in vicinity have been terminated. Cause: unknown. Searching Akashic Records…]

[Found. Cause: Descent of Heretic God Gawain. Searching Akashic Records for other sightings of Neun…]

It had to hurry. The intrusion into Akashic Records, which should have been impossible, was worrying, but far more importantly, Neun had to be found immediately.

Yggdrasil needed Neun.

In order to survive the impending calamity that would soon engulf this planet.

* * *

"Mmm…" Mitsuki moaned as she slowly returned to consciousness.

She opened her eyes to find herself on her back, staring up at a white-tiled ceiling.

"Are you awake, Mitsuki?"

"Miyako…?" Mitsuki croaked out, her throat feeling slightly dry, as her eyes flitted to the side, where her best friend and two of their classmates were sitting, staring at her with worried expressions.

Shinomiya Haruka, Miyako's older sister and the most senior member of the Brynhildr Class was not present.

She slowly sat up in the bed she was lying in and looked around.

"This is…the infirmary? Why am I here?" Mitsuki asked in confusion, unable to remember what she had been doing before.

"You don't remember? You passed out."

"I did? Why did I…?" Mitsuki asked herself as she rubbed her aching temples.

Then, she remembered.

The news report about the emergence of a Heretic God in Spain.

The live footage of a forest being scorched by divine flames.

The knight-like Heretic God.

 _Her brother_ fighting for his life against said Heretic God.

And then…him being struck down by the Heretic God's flaming sword.

"Ugh…!" Mitsuki clapped her hands over her mouth, trying to stop the bile that had rapidly risen in her throat from spilling out.

Her brother was…her brother was…!

"Mitsuki, calm down! Your brother didn't die!" Miyako said as she rubbed a hand on Mitsuki's back in a soothing manner.

Mitsuki froze, the bile in her throat slowly falling back down, allowing her to open her mouth.

"…Really? Nii-san…is alive?" She asked weakly, pleadingly.

"As far as we know. Your brother…he managed to slay that Heretic God." Firill said with a look of awe on her face.

"Eh?" Mitsuki uttered a sound of confusion, not quite comprehending what Firill had just said.

"Your brother. He slew that Heretic God. With its own sword."

"Eh!?" Mitsuki let out the same sound, just much more shrilly as she finally processed Firill's words.

"Nii-san…killed a Heretic God!? Then, does that mean…!?"

Basically everyone on Earth knew what happened when a human managed to take a Heretic God's life.

"It has yet to be confirmed. However, we saw your brother's wounds suddenly healing after the Heretic God's body vanished. So, the chances are very high." Lisa explained, an expression not unlike Firill's on her face as well.

Heretic Gods and Dragons. They were beings possessing far more power than a human could imagine. It was the general consensus that it was impossible for a human to match up against them.

That was why Campione were such exalted existences. They were the ones who had managed to defy the laws of nature and kill a Heretic God.

"Nii-san is…a Campione…" Mitsuki muttered in shock.

What did that mean for him? Would he still be able to come to Midgard?

"Haruka-san is currently talking to the principal to get more details on what happened. The only thing we can do is wait…"

"No need for that. We're already done."

The four of them turned to look at the now open door.

A beautiful girl dressed in Midgard's uniform, with long glossy black hair tied into a ponytail and hazel eyes, exuding an aura of incredible dignity, walked in, closely followed by a petite girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in a lab coat over a red dress, and a tall, voluptuous woman with short black hair and violet eyes, dressed in a maid uniform.

The first was Shinomiya Haruka, student number 9 of Brynhildr Class, the only one from the previous batch who had yet to lose her powers as a D, the current student council president of Midgard and captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad, admired by the rest of the student body, as well as Miyako's older sister by 4 years.

The second was, despite her appearance, the principal and chief administrator of Midgard, Charlotte B. Lord, who Mitsuki had met when she first arrived in Midgard and had been using her connections to help search for Yuu.

The third was Charlotte's personal aide, Mica Stuart, who had escorted Mitsuki to Midgard when she outed herself as a D.

Three of Midgard's highest authorities were here.

"I've confirmed your brother's status. As far as my contacts know, he's alive. Once it was confirmed that the Heretic God had been slain, NIFL retrieved him and had him sent over to Asgard's First Laboratory in Tokyo under the direct orders from Asgard's chief. It doesn't appear that he has regained consciousness yet. However, having slain a Heretic God and fulfilling the requirements for Pandora's ritual, your brother has likely become the Seventh Campione."

"Then…does that mean that he won't be able to come to Midgard?" Mitsuki asked fearfully.

If Yuu did not come to Midgard, then it would be 6 years before she could see him again.

Just the thought of having to go that long without seeing him was enough to drive her to the brink of absolute despair.

"I can't say with absolute certainty. However, it's a fact that he used dark matter transmutation on live TV. Even NIFL won't be able to feign ignorance. And as long as he is a D, Midgard has a claim to him. Though, I have no idea how his new status as the Seventh Campione will affect that." Charlotte replied calmly.

Mitsuki's hands clenched tightly around the bedsheets.

So, the possibility of never seeing him again for 6 years was very real?

"That's why we're heading over there now to discuss this matter personally."

Mitsuki looked back up.

"Y-You're going to Asgard personally, Principal?"

"That's right. With Mica and Haruka. Mica is my personal aide, so her coming with me is nothing out of the ordinary, and while Haruka is still a D and not normally allowed outside of Midgard until she loses her ability to generate dark matter, she's the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad and of a similar age to your brother. I suppose Asgard is hoping that she will be able to convince him to aid their cause."

Mitsuki frowned at the odd wording, before she remembered.

While Campione were exalted, they were also _feared_.

They were humans that had transcended their limits, and had become as dangerous as any Heretic God or Dragon.

Asgard would surely tread lightly around her brother, treating him more like an armed nuclear warhead rather than a 14 year old boy.

But, more importantly, if they were going to meet Yuu now, then…

"Please let me come with you! I…want to see him!" Mitsuki pleaded, causing Charlotte to show an expectant expression.

"I figured you would ask that. I already got clearance for you to come along too."

Mitsuki blinked at the unexpected answer.

"Eh?"

"Well, I guess they figure that he'll be more receptive to negotiations if his little sister is present, or something along those lines. Basically, you're a bargaining chip for Asgard to gain the loyalty, or at least some form of partnership, with the new Campione." Charlotte said with an annoyed expression.

Mitsuki also felt somewhat insulted and humiliated at the thought of being treated like a convenient tool, but if it would allow her to see Yuu again…

"That doesn't matter to me. I want to see Nii-san!"

"…I see. In that case…"

"Principal, if possible, can I come along too?" Miyako interrupted and requested.

"Miyako!" Haruka immediately raised her voice in a reprimanding manner, but Charlotte silenced her with a gesture and turned to look at Miyako with a blank expression.

"Why?"

"I don't feel comfortable letting Mitsuki go if Asgard and NIFL intend to use her as a bargaining chip. Asgard aside, it's a well-known fact that NIFL in general doesn't think of us Ds as humans. They may try something more drastic. I would like to accompany Mitsuki just in case." Miyako explained.

The occupants of the room frowned at her words.

Her words held truth. NIFL was against Midgard's autonomy from the very beginning, and still is even now. There were even rumors that they filtered Ds who were entering Midgard.

The more sensible among them would probably refrain from doing anything stupid since she was Mononobe Yuu's little sister, and they did not want to risk offending the new Campione, but the more zealous and bigoted among them probably wouldn't even consider the consequences.

"Principal, in that case, please allow me to come as well."

"Me too. We can defend ourselves better if there are more of us."

"Even if you are correct, I can't have you attacking NIFL personnel no matter what the reasons are. Doing that will damage Midgard's and the Ds' reputations. I'm sure that none of you would want that. Especially you, Firill Crest, considering your grandfather, King Albert Crest, was the one who put in the most effort into restoring Ds' human rights." Charlotte rebuked their argument calmly.

All of them flinched, Firill in particular.

King Albert Crest had fought for Ds' human rights despite his terminal illness. And he was not the only one.

And they had spoken so carelessly about undoing years of their hard work and sacrifices.

Seeing that they were properly chastised, Haruka started to speak.

"Since you understand, the three of you will be remaining-"

"But since you feel so strongly about this, I will allow you to come." Charlotte interrupted her.

"Wait, Principal!?" Haruka cried out in shock.

Hadn't she just been stopping them?

"Well, it's true that if there are more of them, NIFL will be less likely to try something, since they see Ds as monsters and fear and revile them because of that. However, in the event that you really are accosted by NIFL, none of you are to do anything. Let Mica or I handle it. Understood? Intentionally or not, I cannot have any of you _killing another human being_."

The Ds in the room, including Haruka, froze at Charlotte's words.

That's right. While they were lawfully considered humans, it didn't change the fact that Ds possessed powers that were perfectly capable of killing an ordinary human being with ease.

If they weren't careful…

More than one of them gulped nervously.

"If you understand, then pack luggage for one day and gather at the helipad behind the clock tower in an hour's time." Charlotte concluded and left the room with Mica and Haruka.

The atmosphere remained tense even after they left, but Mitsuki hardened her resolve.

Finally…she would be able to see Yuu.

* * *

Yuu's eyes snapped open as his instincts screamed at him, waking him up instantly.

Murderous intent filled the room he was in, and he instinctively raised his left hand, parrying a knife aimed for his throat by knocking the hand holding it aside.

"Good to see that you're able to respond to an attack even while unconscious, Lieutenant Mononobe."

Yuu turned at the sound of the familiar voice, idly noticing that he appeared to be lying in a bed in a hospital room.

"Major Loki…what was that for?" Yuu asked as he looked at the silver-haired man with piercing blue eyes, wearing NIFL's standard formal uniform, holding a serrated knife in his hand.

He frowned when he felt a tinge of irritation and indignation, but ignored it.

"Ha ha, my apologies. I simply got tired of waiting for you to wake up, and decided to see if this whim of mine would work. I'm glad to see that it did." Loki said as he retracted his hand, a sly smile on his face.

"Can't you just be normal for once and let a patient like me rest? Especially after…"

Yuu froze while sitting up when the last thing he remembered flashed through his head.

Namely, his death match with a Heretic God.

He immediately pressed a hand against his shoulder and then his torso, the places where he had been stabbed and slashed by Gawain's flaming sword, and then at his left hand, which he had been sure looked like an incomplete wax figure after being immolated by Galatine's flames.

Plus, there was the fact that his body should have completely broken down after using power beyond his limit.

Yet, he appeared to be completely unscathed.

Had it all been some sort of delusion?

"I must say, Lieutenant Mononobe, I'm very impressed. Though I trained you as the ultimate assassin, I never once thought that you would be capable of slaying a Heretic God." Loki said with a pleased smile.

"I…really killed a Heretic God." Yuu repeated slowly, still not quite believing it himself.

The entire world's military force, including NIFL, had proven time and time again that they were no match for Dragons or Heretic Gods.

For him, a single human, to be able to slay a Heretic God…

"Wait, then does that mean…?" Yuu trailed off, but it was obvious what he was asking.

Humans who, by some quirk of circumstance, managed to slay a Heretic God invariably became…

"Well, we haven't confirmed it with absolute certainty yet, but yes. There is a good chance that you have become the Seventh Campione." Loki said with a nod, his smile never once faltering.

Yuu felt slightly faint.

He noted that even the constant dull aches and the few scars he had from Loki's harsh training had disappeared completely.

And it might just be his inner narcissist talking, but he appeared to have grown taller, and put on some muscle mass.

He had never felt better than he did right now.

One of the signs of having become a Campione is having your physical body healed and restored to its optimal condition.

So far, every sign pointed to one simple fact: he was now a Campione, a being of near absolute power.

He…had joined the ranks of the ridiculous ascended humans who were just as powerful and terrifying as any Dragon or Heretic God?

The thought…well, it was daunting to say the least.

Could he…even be considered a human anymore?

It was no secret that Campione were both revered and feared.

As the respected 19th century Italian mage, Alberto Ricardo, put it:

A Campione, a God Slayer, is a supreme being.

Since he is capable of killing a celestial being, he is able to call upon the hallowed, divine powers that Gods wield.

A Campione, a God Slayer, is a ruler.

Since he holds the power to slay a deity, he can therefore reign over all mortals on Earth.

A Campione, a God Slayer, is a devil.

For of all mortals who live in this world, none can possibly possess the power to oppose them.

And that was what Yuu was supposed to be?

Ugh, what would Mitsuki think if she found out?

What would his _parents_ think?

That was when Yuu noticed something, and froze.

He remembered.

He remembered his parents!

Their names, their faces, their personalities, he remembered everything with incredible detail!

That couldn't be right, all of his memories other than those pertaining to Mitsuki were supposed to have been erased when he made that deal with Yggdrasil in exchange for the blueprints of a weapon capable of defeating Blue Hekatonkheir. The weapon data was just that massive.

But, he remembered regardless.

His father, Mononobe Kai, a tall Japanese man with black hair and brown eyes, an office worker, the only bread winner of the family.

His mother, Mononobe Yoshimi, a voluptuous woman of both Japanese and European descent, possessing light blue hair and blue eyes which he had inherited.

And not just his parents. He could even remember Mitsuki's late birth parents, his friends from school, the townsfolk…every memory he had lost had suddenly returned.

But…he still had the blueprints for the Anti-Dragon Armament, Marduk, in his head. Not a single detail had been forgotten.

If he could still remember that clearly…did that mean that he didn't need to lose his memories to obtain the weapon data?

In that case, why had he forgotten so many things that made up 'Mononobe Yuu'?

Had…Yggdrasil tricked him?

What did that…that…overgrown weed (why did that sound so familiar) do to him!?

His hands clenched tightly around the sheets, and he gritted his teeth as he felt anger surge to the surface.

"Ho…now that is very impressive murderous intent, Lieutenant Mononobe. It feels more like that of a wild beast's rather than something a human could project. Though, I am rather curious about _who_ you're directing all of the murderousness at."

Yuu snapped out of it and turned to look at Loki, who looked even more pleased than before.

However, Yuu's attention was drawn to the single bead of sweat that was rolling down the major's forehead.

He…had projected so much murderous intent that he had caused the unflappable Loki to break out in nervous sweat?

Something was wrong.

He had never lost control of his emotions like that before. He always kept an iron grip on them so that he would always be able to control himself on the battlefield.

Yes, something was very, very wrong.

But, whatever it was, it would have to wait, because the door burst open with a loud bang at that moment.

"Nii-san!"

Yuu was stunned when someone flew into his arms, burying their face into his hospital gown.

He blinked as he stared down at the girl whose arms were wrapped around his waist, his gown starting to become a bit moist.

That familiar voice, that familiar manner of addressing him, this familiar shade of black hair, the familiar blue and white scrunchy on the left side of her hair, and this familiar scent…

"Mitsuki?" He realized, with no small amount of incredulity.

What was his little sister doing here…wherever here was? And what was that uniform she was wearing?

Ah, but more importantly, she was crying. He immediately placed a hand on her head and started rubbing in a placating manner.

But, that only seemed to make things worse, judging by the way her trembling suddenly increased, and the sound of her crying, though muffled because her face was pressed into his stomach, seemed to get louder.

Why was she crying? Was something wrong? Was there something causing her distress?

Yuu felt his anger resurface as he gritted his teeth.

What was it? What dared to sadden his little sister?

He would destroy it immediately.

Anyone who dared to mess with her would suffer the consequences.

Mitsuki _…was his._

This time, he snapped out of it on his own.

What was that? It wasn't just anger than had boiled to the surface.

There was also a very strong sense of possessiveness.

Possessiveness over Mitsuki.

Seriously, what was going on with him?

"Nii-san…Nii-san…! It's really Nii-san…!" Mitsuki sobbed as she finally lifted her tear-stained face for him to see.

His anger evaporated immediately, replaced with his affection for her.

"Still a crybaby, I see." He smiled wryly without any heat in his words as he continued to rub his little sister's head.

"I'm not a crybaby." Mitsuki mumbled as she pressed her face back into his stomach, still seeking to be coddled some more.

Not that he minded. It had been almost a year since he last saw her.

He really had missed her.

But, his question still remained unanswered. Why was Mitsuki here?

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Mitsuki like that before."

"Yes, she is usually quite shy and reserved. It really is a surprise to see her so expressive."

"I guess she must just be that happy."

Yuu looked up again to see three more girls enter the room.

The first was a rather pretty Japanese girl with short black hair and hazel eyes, with a strange emotion in her eyes that Yuu could not identify as she looked at him.

The second was a stunning European girl with long blonde hair and reddish-purple eyes, with a pink hairband adorned with a ribbon of the same color, and a rather voluptuous figure.

The third also appeared to be European, with short purplish-silver hair and light green eyes, holding a book in her hand, and just as well-endowed as the second girl.

All three of them were wearing the same uniform as Mitsuki, and from their words, were acquainted with her as well.

Yuu was about to ask Mitsuki to explain, when three more people walked into the room.

The first was a tall Japanese girl with long black hair tied in a ponytail and hazel eyes, bearing a resemblance to the first girl from the first group as well as wearing the same uniform as them, a voluptuous woman dressed in a maid uniform with short black hair and violet eyes, and petite blonde girl with blue eyes, wearing a lab coat over a red dress.

The moment the petite girl walked in, murderous intent filled the room, causing the five identically dressed girls, including Mitsuki, to freeze when greeted by what was probably their first experience with the intent to kill, even if it didn't seem to be directed at them, originating from a no longer smiling Loki.

"I guess I should have expected you to be here, 'Gray'." He spoke in a voice that was teeming with so much hostility that Yuu had difficultly associating the man in front of him with the impression he had of Loki.

For the almost one year that Yuu had known Loki, he had never seen the major drop his smile before. He always had contingency plans for his contingency plans, never letting any situation shift against his favor.

Because he was capable of manipulating any situation to reach an outcome that was favorable, Yuu had never once seen him without a smile on his face.

Who on earth was this girl that she could cause Loki to react like this?

Said girl, as well as the maid, stared at Loki with expressions of sheer shock, looking like they had seen a ghost.

Then, a look of realization crossed the girl's face, and her expression hardened and turned to frost.

"I see. So, the one hiding the existence of the only male D in the world was you, 'son of the Hero'." The girl spoke in an arctic voice.

Yuu blinked.

They knew each other?

By the way they were speaking to each other, they definitely weren't friends. Yuu would even go so far as to say that they were longtime enemies.

But…that didn't matter to him.

The only thing that mattered was Mitsuki, who was shaking like a leaf, eyes wide with terror as her mind was on the verge of being utterly crushed under the force of Loki's sheer murderousness, pressing closer to him in some subconscious attempt to seek comfort.

He had to stop Loki.

But how?

He seriously doubted that asking politely would do anything. The major was a bit too used to getting his way for that to work.

…Come to think of it, hadn't his own murderous intent been enough to make Loki sweat just a few moments ago?

But, if he added in enough murderous intent to make Loki flinch, it would probably shatter Mitsuki's mind.

If he was going to do it…he had to direct his murderousness solely at Loki.

Yuu exhaled…and embraced the feelings of negativity he held towards Loki.

His rough treatment when they first met, he could let go of.

The hellish training he went through, he could let slide.

Even the complete isolation, unable to contact anyone he knew, he could ignore.

However, if Loki was causing Mitsuki distress, he could not be forgiven.

Yuu would kill him immediately, no matter the cost, no matter how impossible it seemed.

He allowed his heart to be consumed by those feelings of rage and hatred, directing it all towards the Major, who paused and turned to look at him.

"…Major Loki, I don't know what happened between you two, but would you mind restraining your hostility? You're making my little sister quite uncomfortable." Yuu spoke in a calm manner that belied the veiled threat in his words and the aura he was directing solely towards his commanding officer.

Loki stared at him for a moment, another bead of cold sweat forming on his brow…before he smiled.

"You really are getting closer and closer to my ideal…"

Yuu frowned when he heard Loki mutter under his breath.

He was getting closer to the way Loki wanted him to be?

Then, he was slowly losing his identity as Mononobe Yuu, Mitsuki's older brother and proclaimed fiancé?

Yuu felt even more anger surge within him.

What right did he have to try and change him!? An insect like him!?

Loki's smile widened stiffly as Yuu's directed murderous intent grew even stronger.

The major's stance relaxed as much as it could when faced with more murderous intent than a human could ever project, and his own murderousness faded, causing the five girls, who had been paralyzed by both fear and the oppressive aura, to inhale sharply and deeply.

"My my, I've shown a rather unsightly side of myself. I apologize. Lieutenant Mononobe, allow me to introduce you. This is Charlotte B. Lord, the head administrator of Midgard." Loki said as he gestured towards the girl, who was easily the shortest and youngest looking person in the room.

It wouldn't be odd for someone to think that she was still in elementary school.

Yuu was not one of them.

The moment he looked at Charlotte, he immediately knew that he was dealing with a veteran.

There was a look of confidence within her scrutinizing gaze that did not belong on a child's face, and there was also the fact that she was able to shrug off major Loki's murderous intent with seemingly no effort.

And furthermore, his instincts were telling him that he was not looking at a _human_.

It looked like a human, spoke like a human, and acted like a human, but every cell in his body was telling him with absolute certainty that this girl was not a human.

Did this have something to do with Loki's animosity towards her?

And in the first place, why was the principal of Midgard here?

Why was Mitsuki with her?

Yuu felt something cold form in the pit of his stomach.

"As he said, I am Charlotte B. Lord, Migard's principal and chief administrator. This is my secretary, Mica Stewart…" The childlike girl spoke, gesturing to her maid, who stepped forward.

"Pleased to meet you." Mica Stewart greeted as she bowed politely to him.

"…the student council president, and captain of the Anti-Dragon Squad, Shinomiya Haruka, possessing the nominal rank of Lieutenant Colonel…" Charlotte continued, this time gesturing to the ponytailed girl, who also bowed in greeting.

"…And along with your little sister, students from the same class in Midgard and members of the Anti-Dragon Squad, all possessing the nominal ranks of Corporal, Lisa Highwalker…"

"How do you do?" The taller blonde greeted in a formal manner.

"…Firill Crest…"

"It's a pleasure." The silver-haired girl greeted in a soft voice.

"…and Shinomiya Miyako."

"Hi~!" The last girl greeted him much more informally with an enthusiastic wave and a wide smile, shattering the solemn atmosphere that had been forming in the room.

The other students stared at her with expressions of disbelief.

But, Yuu didn't really mind. It was rather refreshing to be greeted so casually. The military was unbelievably stifling. The last time anyone had talked to him like that was almost a year ago.

He did take note of her last name, and her physical resemblance to Shinomiya Haruka. Were they sisters?

So, this meant that Mitsuki was also a student at Midgard?

Did that mean…his act back then was futile after all?

Ah, but right now, he had to return their greetings.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for taking care of my little sister." Yuu greeted with a bow.

"So, why is Midgard's principal here?"

"I think the better question would be 'why wouldn't I be here?' After all, that death match of yours is all that every news channel in the world can talk about." Charlotte replied with a wry smile.

Yuu froze.

His battle with Gawain was broadcast worldwide on live TV?

Which meant that…Mitsuki probably saw. His sorry state, on the verge of death.

The sheer emotion with which she had greeted him suddenly made even more sense. If she had known just how close he had been to dying…

"Not only did you slay a Heretic God, by yourself, no less, you also used dark matter generation. Since you are a D, you fall under Midgard's jurisdiction, which is why we are here. Though I have no idea how your new status will affect that." Charlotte explained.

Ah, that's right. All Ds were to be transported and confined to Midgard until they reached the age of 20 and lost their ability to generate dark matter. He had forgotten, because of his own special circumstances that caused him to end up in the shadows of NIFL instead.

Yuu's eyes flitted down to the back of his left hand, where his Dragon Mark, the absolute proof of a D, was…

…Or at least, where it was supposed to be, but…

"Eh?" Yuu let out a sound of shock at what he saw.

Or rather, what he _didn't_ see.

The noise he made did not go unnoticed by the other occupants in the room.

"Is something wrong, Lieutenant Mononobe?"

"My Dragon Mark…is gone."

The others reacted as he expected.

"What?"

Mitsuki, being the one closest to him and knowing where his Dragon Mark was supposed to be, examined his left hand as well.

"…It's true. Nii-san's Dragon Mark has completely vanished." Mitsuki confirmed with a tone and a look of disbelief.

"Interesting…did your becoming a Campione interfere with your powers as a D? Mononobe Yuu, would you mind trying to generate dark matter?" Charlotte asked him.

"S…Sure." Yuu said uncertainly.

Would it even work? Losing their Dragon Mark meant that a D no longer had the ability to generate dark matter.

Well, they wouldn't know unless he tried.

A good place to start would be to draw out his inferior maximum generating capacity, puny in comparison to most Ds.

He held a hand out, imagining them reaching into 'the world beyond the material plane', and drawing on it.

He got the shock of his life when a humongous stream of black materialized into the world, flooding the room, an amount of dark matter far greater than any he had ever managed to generate beforehand.

He hastily cut it off and mentally commanded the dark matter to dissipate, causing the black mass that had filled the room to vanish in an instant, leaving no trace of it behind.

What the hell just happened? What was that obscene amount of dark matter?

The others in the room looked very alarmed at what had just happened, but none more so than Mitsuki, who looked very shaken, and Loki, who looked mildly surprised, being the only two people in the room who knew just how inferior his generating capacity should have been.

"Lieutenant Mononobe…what was that?" Loki asked.

"I…I'm not sure what happened. I was just trying to generate my maximum capacity…"

"Then, what did you expect would happen? All Ds can generate at least 10 metric tons worth of matter post conversion…" Charlotte said exasperatedly.

"No no no, not in my case. I'm an inferior D. My maximum before this was 10 kilograms post conversion." Yuu immediately responded.

"K-Kilograms?" The blonde girl named Lisa Highwalker muttered in disbelief.

"It may be impossible to believe, but you had to be up front and squinting to be able to see my Dragon Mark, and that's only if you knew where to look. That's just how small it is."

"I can attest to that as well. I believe that there should be some photos in Lieutenant Mononobe's personnel file showing his Dragon Mark." Loki added.

"…In that case, how did you defeat the Hekatonkheir last year?" Charlotte asked bluntly.

Yuu's eyes narrowed.

How did she know about that?

"Your little sister told us that you created a massive firearm that destroyed the Hekatonkheir's entire body with a single shot. However, if your maximum capacity is only 10 kilograms, there is no way that you could have created a weapon of that scale. In that case, how did you do it?" Charlotte elaborated.

Yuu hesitated, not wanting to reveal the details of the deal he made with Yggdrasil. He seriously doubted that that would look good for him, especially with Midgard's chief administrator, the captain of the Anti-Dragon Squad, Major Loki and Mitsuki all listening.

"It's true that I could not create that weapon on my own. So, I borrowed Mitsuki's dark matter as well."

Though it was vague, they seemed to be satisfied with the answer.

It was difficult to do in reality, but it was possible for a D to borrow and convert the dark matter of another D.

It was next to impossible to do, because dark matter were brought into the physical plane by a unique D, and maintained there with their unique mind.

Unless one had an intimate understanding of the other, it was almost impossible to properly convert the dark matter of another D.

Yuu's case was an exception, because he already had the blueprints of Marduk in his head, and simply forced the conversion of dark matter using the blueprints as a filter.

If he had tried using his own imagination, there would be blanks and flaws in the process, and adding in the mental interference from another D, it would doubtlessly fail mid conversion.

But, he and Mitsuki were siblings, and childhood friends before that, having known each other all their lives, so he liked to think that they understood each other best.

"Hm…it's impossible to tell how much your dark matter generation has been altered without proper testing…How about it, Mononobe Yuu? Every bureaucrat in the world worth their salt will be clamoring to meet you soon because of your new status, but before that, will you agree to a few tests? You can even test out your new abilities as a Campione while you're at it."

Yuu thought about it.

If he was going to have to deal with politicians, it would be a good idea to know what he was capable of beforehand. It might make intimidations… _negotiations_ easier.

But as he was about to agree, a familiar sensation settled in his stomach.

*GROOOOOWL*

Everyone else in the room stared at him when his stomach let out a loud rumbling sound.

"…I don't mind, but could I get something to eat first?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Loki Jotunheim, Charlotte B. Lord, Mica Stewart and Shinomiya Haruka were left alone in the room.

Mononobe Yuu had gone to the dining hall on the 10th floor, accompanied by the four students of the Brynhildr Class.

It wasn't like he was confined to the room or anything. He was already healed, and his body modified to its most perfect condition.

And even if Loki wanted to confine him, now that he was a Campione, he seriously doubted he would have the power to do it.

Mononobe Yuu…was now a slayer of Gods, not an assassin against humanity.

He had definitely strayed very far from the path that Loki had initially laid out for him.

Loki wondered if the newest God Slayer had even noticed.

Despite being in the same room as five Ds and two ordinary humans, _Fafnir did not stir in the slightest_.

The Fafnir that had been engraved into Mononobe Yuu's soul…it was a watered down, imperfect version of the Authority belonging to the Clear Dragon, Colorless Fafnir, Loki's _distant ancestor_.

An Authority that bore the singular power to utterly destroy the entire human race.

But because the original Colorless Fafnir had never used it, the original Authority broke down into many fragments, and was inherited by random humans, which was why it was called Code Lost, the scrapped Authority.

Loki had painstakingly gathered as many of the inheritors as he could, so that Mononobe Yuu could inherit the fragments from them.

He was one of the few who knew the mechanics behind the inheritance of Dragon Authorities.

As Black Vritra had demonstrated with the Ds, it was possible for the original holder of the complete Authority to pass watered down versions to others.

Following that, if the original holder had a child, they would also inherit a complete version of the Authority in the event of the parent's death.

However, this only applied if the Authority was in a complete state.

Loki had not inherited his father's portion of Colorless Fafnir's Authority because he only possessed an incomplete version, which dispersed and was inherited by other randomly selected humans after his death.

Then, there was the surefire way to inherit an Authority, whether it was complete or not.

That was to kill the holder of the Authority.

The priority in Authority inheritance was determined by a karmic relationship.

The bond between a parent and a child was indeed strong, but the strongest karma was born between 'the killer and the killed'.

Thus, to ensure that Mononobe Yuu would inherit the various scattered fragments of Fafnir's Authority, he fed the inheritors his blood, laced with lethal doses of poison.

Thanks to that, Mononobe Yuu inherited their fragments of Fafnir's Authority, which gathered and combined to slowly grow more potent and become closer to the original Authority.

The original Fafnir's Authority was simple. It manipulated the laws of causality to twist humanity's fate and lead them to their deaths simply by imagining it. At its full power, it would indiscriminately kill all of humanity simply by directing murderous intent towards a single human.

That was why, even in an incomplete form like the one that Mononobe Yuu had, it was capable of absolutely killing any human.

Which was why it was strange that it did not even so much as stir when surrounded by 7 humans.

Loki could only theorize that becoming a Campione had affected the incomplete Authority.

No, perhaps it was before that, when Mononobe Yuu fought the Heretic God.

By being exposed to copious amounts of divine power, it had mutated from its original form to that of a new unique power, one designed to kill Gods.

Rather than Fafnir, who slaughtered humans after its horde of gold, he was now…yes, he was Fenrir, the God-Slaying Wolf that even the Norse Gods feared.

Despite the loss of his most successful 'Fafnir', Loki could only feel elation.

The loss was lamentable, but Loki could just as easily create another one and eventually obtain the complete version once he had gathered enough fragments.

This turn of events was unexpected, but wonderful. If Mononobe Yuu really possessed a mutated Authority designed to kill Gods, then he was humanity's best defense against Heretic Gods.

A hero.

Loki smirked.

What a coincidence, considering that he was called 'the son of the Hero'.

"So, how were the results?"

Loki glanced at Charlotte B. Lord, who was looking at him expressionlessly.

However, even she wasn't able to hide the glint of hostility in her eyes.

It couldn't be helped.

After all, _he was the son of the man who killed, and was killed by, her father._

Leonardo Blood Lord, Charlotte Blood Lord's father, the first Gray Vampire, the Eighth Dragon and officially, the only Dragon to have sided with humanity.

He and his twin brother, the original Colorless Fafnir, were born centuries ago, simultaneously obtaining Authorities meant to be used against mankind.

Fafnir gained an Authority to slaughter mankind, while Vampire gained an Authority to control mankind.

Fafnir, deeming his own power too dangerous to use, left the task to his brother, who used his Authority, Dominance, to live on beyond the normal lifespan of a human, in order to control mankind and prevent them from destroying the world.

He had even stopped the nuclear war that would have broken out in the aftermath of World War 2.

When Black Vritra appeared, he determined that he was the same type of being as it.

In other words, a Dragon.

Even so, he chose to continue to help humanity, being one of those who helped in Asgard's establishment.

However, his Authority was too dangerous. It wasn't something that could be fine-tuned so easily.

His Authority, Dominance, worked by controlling humans using his own bodily fluids as a medium, thereby conferring immortality onto them as well.

However, that was no different from turning humans into a part of him as well.

The true nature of Dominance was to completely assimilate humanity into a single being, robbing them of their own free will, turning them into existences not unlike the individual cells of a being.

Knowing that, Leonardo kept his interference to a minimum, to prevent himself from ever manifesting his Authority's full power.

20 years ago, fearing his power, a team of NIFL soldiers, led by Loki's own father, who possessed a fragment of Code Lost, attacked, killed, and was killed by, Leonardo Blood Lord, his wife, and his subordinates, all of whom possessed immortality due to taking in some of Leonardo's blood, using Code Lost's power of causality manipulation to reach an outcome where they would die in spite of that.

In the aftermath of that incident, the only survivors were Mica Stewart, the last of Leonardo's subordinates, and Charlotte B. Lord, his 13 year old daughter, who would inherit his Authority, and go on to take his place and become one of Asgard's founders.

Loki, who was born soon after that incident, was raised and received the highest possible quality of training and education from NIFL's higher ups, who had deemed his father 'the hero' and wished to turn his son into a similar weapon for them to manipulate.

Of course, soon after they discovered that he had not inherited his father's incomplete Code Lost, they scrapped their plans, allowing him much more freedom to do as he liked.

He had no intention of becoming a tool like his father had been. What he wished to become was a true 'hero', to save humanity from the monsters that threatened them.

He was very much aware that Charlotte B. Lord would not misuse her power. However, he could not accept her existence precisely because she was trying to establish peace in the world.

True, less lives would definitely be lost if all war ended, but simultaneously, those whose lives could only be saved through conflict would surely die.

That was the Dragon disaster that the Gray Vampire brought upon humanity, willingly or not.

However, he could not kill her just yet. Loathe as he was to admit it, her power was still required as long as the other Dragons still existed.

And then there were the Heretic Gods, who were infinitely more troublesome, considering that there was an endless number of them, and every single one was as dangerous as any Dragon.

Furthermore, even if they were killed, they would reform and return. It might take centuries, but they would return nonetheless.

Humanity would likely never be free from them.

That was why a protector was needed, someone capable of killing them and protecting humanity.

And it appeared that fate had seen fit to provide them with one.

Loki had no doubt that Mononobe Yuu would be powerful, even by Campione standards. After all, he now possessed a mutated Authority to kill Gods with.

Once he had gained enough experience, Heretic Gods would no longer need to be feared.

Which just left…the Dragons. If all of the Dragons could be slain, then…

Ah, but right now, he should hurry up and respond to Charlotte, shouldn't he?

"Results?" Loki inquired.

"Do not play coy with me, 'son of the hero'. Knowing you, you probably had a few tests conducted while Mononobe Yuu was unconscious. What were the results?" Charlotte B. Lord asked coldly.

Loki's eyes narrowed.

She was a sharp one, though that was to be expected.

It wasn't like he intended to hide it anyway.

"In the short time I had, I could only have a physical examination, an X-Ray and an MRI conducted. As expected, Lieutenant Mononobe's body is in perfect condition. Any imperfections that he had are now gone. Additionally, while his bone density hasn't increased, they seem much more durable than before. But, the most interesting result would be from the MRI."

"And that is?"

"Despite being unconscious at the time, his neural activity was recorded at a higher level than that of a normal, conscious human. It can be concluded that his brain's processing power has drastically increased."

Charlotte's eyes widened at the implications.

For a normal human, increased processing power was already incredible boon.

However, if a D possessed superior processing power, then…

"Well, even before this, Lieutenant Mononobe was already capable of constructing complex mechanisms like firearms. But now, with his new processing power and his seemingly increased dark matter generation capacity…biogenic transmutation may be within his reach now."

Yes, Mononobe Yuu truly was interesting.

* * *

"Once again, I am Mononobe Yuu. Pleased to meet you all." Yuu said as he bowed to the Midgard students.

They were seated at a table in the dining hall, waiting for their orders to arrive.

The other occupants of the room were giving them a wide berth, though whether it was because of the Ds, or because of him, Yuu did not know.

"Pleased to meet you. Once again, I am Lisa Highwalker, student number 1 of Brynhildr Class." The blonde girl named Lisa reintroduced herself.

"…Firill Crest, student number 2 of Brynhildr Class." The silver-haired girl named Firill greeted quietly like before.

"Shinomiya Miyako, student number 4 of Brynhildr Class! And also Mitsuki's best friend! Nice to meet you!" The upbeat Japanese girl said cheerfully.

Yuu felt another surge of irritation.

Mitsuki's best friend, huh?

"I want to thank all of you for taking care of my little sister. I know she can be a bit of handful at times." Yuu continued, ignoring his sudden annoyance.

"Nii-san!" Mitsuki whined in protest.

He promptly patted her on the head patronizingly, flashing a teasing smile at her, causing her to pout and turn her face away.

Not very convincing, considering she had yet to let go of his arm since they left the hospital room.

"No, it's no trouble at all, Lieutenant Mononobe. We are separated from our real families while at Midgard, so it's only natural that classmates take care of each other." The blonde girl named Lisa spoke respectfully, as though speaking to a superior.

Yuu felt a tinge of irritation (seriously, why was he so irritable) at the overly formal way she was speaking to him.

"…There's no need to be so formal, you know? I may be a Lieutenant, but Midgard students like you aren't part of the military, so there's no need to conform to hierarchy." Yuu said with a wry smile.

The three Midgard students exchanged surprised looks.

The Japanese girl, Miyako, turned back to him with a wide grin.

"Oh in that case, can I call you bro?" Miyako asked without restraint.

Everyone blinked owlishly at her.

"M-Miyako-san!" Lisa shouted in a panicked voice, turning to look at him to see his reaction.

Yuu was still staring at Miyako, not quite yet fully comprehending what she had said.

Then, his mind caught up to the present, and his lips twisted for a moment, causing Lisa and the other European girl, Firill, to flinch as he…

"Hahahaha!"

…burst into boisterous laughter?

This time, he was the one being stared at, while Miyako's grin widened further.

Finally, he stopped cracking up long enough to catch his breath.

"Well, I don't mind if you wanna call me that, but…Mitsuki might get jealous, you know?" Yuu said, returning her smile.

"Eh? No way, Mitsuki wouldn't…" Miyako laughed as she turned to look at Mitsuki, but paused when she saw Mitsuki's expression.

Namely, her angry pout.

Mitsuki's grip on his arm tightened.

"…Nii-san is my Nii-san." Mitsuki said in a very cross tone.

"C-Come on, Mitsuki…we're best friends, right? Don't be like that…"

"This and that are two completely different matters, homewrecker." Mitsuki immediately refuted her.

"Grk!" Miyako choked.

Yuu snickered at the sight.

"Nice to know that my misfortune amuses you." Miyako mumbled with a pout of her own.

Yuu smiled contently.

Mitsuki had some really good friends now.

It would be a pity if their friendship was strained because of such a trivial matter.

He leaned in to whisper into his little sister's ear.

"Don't worry, Mitsuki. Even if I get another little sister, you're still my one and only fiancée."

Mitsuki blushed madly, but smiled brightly.

"Yes!" She exclaimed happily and leaned into him.

"Well, Mitsuki seems to be okay with it now, so pleased to meet you, sis."

Yuu said as he turned back to Miyako, but paused when he caught the flicker of an emotion in Miyako's gaze again, and this time, he was sure what it was.

" _Oho, so she feels that way about Mitsuki, huh?"_

Well, Midgard's student body and presumably the faculty were composed solely of girls. It shouldn't be a surprise that some of them might be bisexual or homosexual.

It went as soon as it came, and Miyako grinned at him.

"Yeah, me too, bro!" Miyako said, flashing a thumbs up at him.

"H-How courageous, addressing a Campione in such a familiar manner…" Lisa commented with a look of awe.

"…Miyako, you really are amazing." Firill added.

"I don't mind if you two want to do the same. It's a welcome change after spending a year in NIFL. It's unbelievably stifling." Yuu told them.

"N-No, it's fine, really!" Lisa refused politely, but hurriedly.

On the other hand, Firill seemed to be in deep thought.

"Hmm…then, do you mind if I start by calling you 'Mononobe-kun'? It's not as formal, but still polite, which is something I'm more comfortable with. Ah, but it's fine if you want to call me by my first name. I don't mind." She asked after a moment of silence.

"F-Firill-san!" Lisa exclaimed in shock.

"Sure, if that's what you want, Firill." Yuu replied.

Lisa was rendered completely speechless at this point, unable to understand what was going on.

Evidently, she had expected their meeting to go very differently.

"Lisa, since he himself said that he would prefer it if we spoke more casually, I think it would be ruder to refuse." Firill said to Lisa, whose expression became more pensive as she considered her friend's words.

"…That's true. I apologize. In that case…may I call you 'Mononobe-san'? Lisa asked, finally relenting.

Yuu still thought that it was rather formal, but it was certainly an improvement compared to 'Lieutenant Mononobe'.

He already heard enough of that from Major Loki.

"Of course, and I hope you won't mind me calling you by your first name, Lisa."

Yuu was momentarily confused when Lisa's face suddenly turned red, and she looked away in a rather flustered manner.

But, she didn't protest, so did that mean he could take that as a 'yes'?

Now that that was out of the way, Yuu opened his mouth to ask them about Midgard. He was rather curious about the academy that was built for Ds.

That was when the food arrived.

"S-Sorry for the wait!"

Yuu blinked and turned to stare at the waiter, or rather, the waiter leading a team of other waiters, all carrying a plate of food in their hands, and all looking rather terrified.

One by one, they deposited the food onto the table, quickly covering the surface with a variety of cuisines.

And just as abruptly as they had arrived, they departed.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they ran.

Not that Yuu noticed. He was too busy staring at all of the dishes on the table.

"Well, now that was impressive. With all the food we ordered, I expected them to take longer." Yuu commented as he began to dig in.

He did not notice the four Midgard students exchanging uncomfortable glances at each other before they started to eat as well.

They had a pretty good idea of what had happened. The staff was probably so terrified of not meeting the new Campione's standards that they put all other orders aside and focused solely on theirs.

It was a few minutes into eating that Lisa finally decided to ask what the four Ds had on their minds.

"Um…Mononobe-san, are you really going to eat all of that?" Lisa questioned as she gestured to the huge number of dishes covering their table.

Indeed, almost all of the food was ordered by Yuu, while the four Ds simply settled for a simple meal.

"This is definitely a lot more food than I usually eat, but…well, I'm not sure why, but I've never been hungrier than I am right now. It feels like I have to eat this much to feel full." Yuu noted as he cut into the ribeye steak in front of him, just one of the many dishes he had ordered.

He remembered that he was going to ask about Midgard, and opened his mouth again, only to be interrupted yet again.

"Excuse me, but would you happen to be Lieutenant Mononobe Yuu?"

Yuu pushed down yet another surge of irritation as he turned to face the speaker.

It was a man with messy brown hair, stubble, and dressed in a wrinkled lab coat.

"Yes, I'm Mononobe Yuu. And you are?" Yuu asked as he absentmindedly extended his hand for a handshake.

"Ah, good, I've found you. I'm Miyazawa Kenya, the head researcher of Asgard's First Laboratory. I've been placed in charge of the tests that you will be undertaking later. Once you have finished your meal, could you come down to the first basement floor? That's where the tests will be conducted." He requested as he returned Yuu's gesture and shook the outstretched limb.

"The first basement floor, is it? Understood, I'll proceed there as soon as I can."

"Please do. Oh, and here's the ID card you'll need to use to get there." The researcher said as he passed the piece of plastic to Yuu.

"If you'll excuse me, I still have some more preparations to make." Kenya said as he departed.

Yuu stared at the piece of plastic in his hand in anticipation.

Just what kind of abilities did becoming a Campione grant him?

He almost couldn't wait to find out.

* * *

Half an hour later, Yuu found himself standing in the middle of a massive rectangular chamber, measuring more than 100mx100mx100m in dimensions.

The walls, floor and ceiling were completely covered in steel-reinforced concrete, with cameras and screens set up in various places.

At the far end of the training chamber was an observation platform, looking like it was wedged in the corner between the far wall and the ceiling.

He assumed that that was where Miyazawa Kenya, Loki, Charlotte B. Lord, the Midgard personnel and anyone one else observing was right now.

This was the training chamber located in the first basement floor.

And despite it being the highest of the underground floors, it was still very deep below the ground floor. Getting to this floor from the ground floor took the elevator almost as much time as it did to get from the 10th floor to the ground floor.

[This is a training chamber modelled after the ones in Midgard. It's built to minimize damages to the environment in the event that a D makes a mistake in the transmutation process and creates hazardous material instead. I don't how well it will be able to contain the power of a Campione's Authority, but at the very least, you should be able to let loose here without having to fear collateral damage.]

Miyazawa Kenya's voice came over the speaker.

[Well, before that, we would like to confirm the extent of the changes that have occurred in your dark matter generation. Would you mind generating the full capacity?]

"Unfortunately, I don't really know what my new limit is. Is there somewhere I can start?"

[Hm…well, the average D can produce 10 metric tons worth of dark matter post conversion. First, why not try to create a 10-ton block of iron?]

"Alright then…"

Yuu drew on his dark matter, generating what he estimated to 10 metric tons' worth, and imagining the tightly packed molecular structure of iron, changed the shape and properties of the dark matter to that of iron.

The dark matter coalesced and formed a perfect metal cube, its sides measuring just over 1 meter in length.

[Hm…10 metric tons, just as expected, and judging by the dimensions…that is indeed pure iron. Well done, Lieutenant Mononobe. How do you feel? Any signs of fatigue?]

He was probably referring to the mental strain that generating and transmuting dark matter placed on a D's brain. The more dark matter a D generated, the greater the strain. Generating their maximum capacity would naturally place the greatest strain of them, and doing it enough to render an unprepared D unconscious, and still cause great exhaustion even if it was prepared for.

Before, even generating his maximum capacity at once was tiring, which was why the fighting style that he was taught used as little dark matter as possible while still maximizing efficiency, such as transmuting bullets for a gun rather than transmuting the entire firearm every time the ammo ran out, and creating the bare minimum amount of anti-material armor to cover his vitals rather than creating a massive amount to cover his entire body.

But now, even after generating what was 1000 times his original maximum capacity…

"No, not at all." Yuu replied.

It was true. He barely felt any strain on his brain when he had generated the 10-ton block of iron. It felt like he could do this endlessly.

[Interesting…in that case, why not try transmuting a larger mass? Try creating 100 metric tons of gold. It's denser than iron, so it should take less space.]

Yuu nodded absentmindedly.

Gold was not a material he typically transmuted, since it had rather limited uses in the military.

However, it was a metal just like iron, so the process shouldn't be much different.

Picturing an identical structure as iron, but with gold atoms instead, Yuu generated 10 times as much dark matter as he did previously and changed its shape and properties to match that of gold.

Soon, a perfect golden cube, with sides measuring just over 5 meters, sat next to the iron cube.

[Are you feeling exhausted yet, Lieutenant Mononobe?]

"No, not at all."

That was starting to get odd. He barely felt a prick at the edge of his consciousness.

Just how massive was his generating capacity now?

[Very well then. Transmuting metals is rather monotonous, so why try generating air this time?]

"Air?"

[Allow me to explain.]

Miyazawa Kenya's voice was replaced by an unfamiliar one, which he presumed to belong to Shinomiya Haruka, the captain of the Dragon Subjugation Squad and Midgard's student council president.

[Among the types of transmutation that a D can perform, air has the widest range of applications. By generating different quantities of air while adjusting directionality and compression ratio, it can be used for offensive, defensive and auxiliary purposes. With the right adjustments, it is even possible for a D to fly in the air, since the transmutation of air results in the generation of wind as well. All members of the Dragon Subjugation Squad are required to be able to fly using this method, as well as fire long range attacks whether in the air or on the ground.]

The information was new and interesting to him, but it was the part about flying that caught his attention.

"Flying, huh? That sounds fun." Yuu commented as he generated a sphere of dark matter in his left hand.

Air, was it? He should give it a try.

Let's see…in order to lift him up, he needed to produce a large volume of air that could overcome gravitational force…

…Nah, he was overly complicating things. Rather than trying, and likely failing calculate an exact volume of air, he just needed to feel things out with his body, and then adjust accordingly.

Ah, but to balance himself, he should be transmuting air from both hands. So, he generated a sphere of dark matter in his right hand the same size as the one in his left.

Compressing and directing the transmuted air downwards and replenishing the dark matter being used in the process, Yuu felt strong gusts at his feet, but his feet remained firmly planted on the ground.

[Well, it takes quite a good deal of training to be able to do this properly, so you probably shouldn't expect to…]

He tuned out her voice, concentrating solely on this task.

He wasn't producing enough air. Either than, or he wasn't compressing it enough.

So, he started transmuting more.

Wind howled around him as massive volumes of air was introduced into the room.

Slowly, but surely, he felt his feet lift off the floor and into the air, just a little.

He judged that it might be dangerous to keep increasing the volume of air he was transmuting, so instead of transmuting more, he kept the transmutation constant, and switched to compressing the transmuted air.

He ascended slowly and steadily as the compression ratio of the transmuted air increased, until he had reached the halfway point between the floor and the ceiling, at which he kept both the transmutation and the compression constant, allowing him to hover in place.

But, there was a problem.

Because he was generating dark matter to transmute air from his hands, he couldn't exactly hold anything in them. Namely a weapon.

Rather than from his hands…wouldn't it be easier to generate air from his center of gravity?

Generating two more spheres of dark matter, one in front of his center of gravity and the other behind, he slowly lowered the output of transmuted air from the dark matter in his hands while simultaneously increasing the output from the two new spheres to compensate.

Eventually, no more air was being transmuted from the dark matter in his hands, allowing him to dismiss them without dropping in altitude.

[W-Well done…I didn't expect you to be able to do it so easily.]

"No, this much isn't really anything to speak of. It's actually quite intuitive. But, to be able to do this while focusing on other tasks will require some more practice." Yuu spoke honestly.

The actual process of flying and maintaining wasn't all that difficult, especially for kinesthetic learners like him.

The hard part was being able to do this without exerting additional brain power on it, so that he could concentrate on doing something else while flying, like attacking.

[Pfffft…! Mitsuki, even bro managed to get the hang of it faster than you…!]

[Miyako!]

Yuu raised an eyebrow when he vaguely heard Miyako laughing, and Mitsuki protesting.

What was that about?

[An impressive display, Lieutenant Mononobe. However, that is only one of the many uses of air transmutation. Next, why don't you trying using air offensively? You've already created two targets for yourself.]

Miyazawa Kenya's voice returned.

Yuu looked down at the ground, where two blocks of different metals that he had transmuted still sat.

Using air offensively, huh?

True, highly compressed air would possess as much force as any solid projectile.

And with a D's generating capacity, it was possible to create and compress massive volumes of air.

He held a hand out towards the two blocks.

A massive sphere of dark matter appeared in front of him, and was quickly transmuted into a ball of compressed air that was shot down at the two blocks.

The malleable metals were flattened in an instant, crushed by the sheer force behind the projectile of compressed air.

[Ho…not bad at all. Well then, let's try one last thing before we move onto testing your capabilities as a Campione. Lieutenant Mononobe, please construct the weapon you used to destroy the Hekatonkheir's body.]

Yuu paused.

So, he knew about that as well, huh?

True, with his new generating capacity, he could probably construct the entirety of Marduk by himself, which was something he was unable to do back then even after borrowing Mitsuki's dark matter.

But, was it safe?

By constructing Marduk to perfection, he was basically giving NIFL a new superweapon, one that they might be tempted to use on Midgard, who they had an obviously tumultuous relationship with.

Rather than completely constructing Marduk…yes, it would be safer if he removed the cooling unit so that it could only fire one shot before the barrel melted.

With that in mind, Yuu summoned a larger quantity of dark matter than he had used so far.

He retrieved the blueprints of Marduk that was stored in his mind and used its specifications to mold the dark matter, which quickly took on the shape of a massive silver barrel, easily measuring 10 meters in length, fitted onto a rotating base.

Yuu was almost in awe at his new generating capacity. Even creating this massive weapon had barely taken a toll on him, nothing more than a brief feeling of mild weakness.

He was starting to wonder if his dark matter generation even had an upper limit anymore.

[So, this is the weapon that damaged the Hekatonkheir so badly that it took almost 3 months to reappear…How does it work, Lieutenant Mononobe?]

Yuu grimaced. He knew that question was coming.

The truth of the matter was that he had no idea.

The blueprints only told him how to make it, not how it worked. All he knew was that it would work once the bare minimum components were in place.

This meant…it was time to put his bullshitting skills to the test.

But, against a scientist, he wasn't too sure that he would be able to do it.

Thankfully, he was saved from answering when a shrill alarm rang in the testing chamber.

[What the…What's going on?]

Yuu heard Miyazawa Kenya ask over the intercom, but the familiar click of a phone told him that he was speaking to someone else.

After a few moments, he heard the phone being set down.

[We have an emergency. A tree approximately 100 meters in height has suddenly appeared near the base of Mount Fuji. And all electronic devices in its vicinity have failed completely.]

Yuu froze.

That sounded just like…

[It appears to be the Green Dragon, Green Yggdrasil.]

* * *

"This is the current situation. 20 minutes ago, at 1430 hours, a 100 meter tree, presumably Green Yggdrasil, appeared near the base of Mount Fuji. An electromagnetic field approximately 400 meters in radius appeared around it at the same time. It is of little concern at the moment, because the range of electromagnetic interference is too short to affect Tokyo. However, Yggdrasil appears to be slowly moving towards the city, and is estimated to arrive within 2 hours. If its electromagnetic interference reaches the city, who knows how many lives would be lost. Therefore, Yggdrasil's immediate termination is now of the highest priority." Charlotte spoke in a very professional tone unbefitting her childlike stature to the five members of the Dragon Subjugation Squad present.

Shortly after the news about Yggdrasil's sudden appearance came in, NIFL deployed immediately to deal with the situation, and since the captain and four other members of Midgard's Counter Dragon Squad happened to be present, they were brought along as well.

Yuu was technically still a member of NIFL, so he was present as well.

They had set up a command post about 2 kilometers away from the boundary of Yggdrasil's electromagnetic field, and the Midgard personnel, plus Yuu, were sitting inside a briefing room.

On the screen was a live feed of the 100 meter tree that had suddenly appeared, being broadcast by one of NIFL's unmanned drones, flying just outside the range of the tree's electromagnetic field.

Since NIFL had previously proven that they were not capable of fighting against Yggdrasil, the Dragon Subjugation Squad was placed in charge of the operation instead.

Judging from the dirty looks the NIFL personnel had shot the Ds, they had not taken that well, though they quickly fled after Yuu momentarily frowned at them.

The sudden fear of him was starting to get a little annoying.

"Principal, I'm sure everyone is curious, but…is that really Yggdrasil? Wasn't the Green Dragon supposed to be located at the border between Denmark and Germany?" Lisa asked.

True. Yggdrasil had not been reported to show any unusual activity, and this 100 meter tree had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

If it was really Yggdrasil, it meant that the Green Dragon had somehow teleported halfway across the planet.

It had never shown any signs of possessing such an ability.

"Major Loki Jotunheim of NIFL is confirming with the NIFL personnel stationed there to confirm Yggdrasil's status. We have yet to hear from him though…"

"Sorry for the wait. I have finished speaking to the personnel that were assigned to observe Yggdrasil at the Denmark-Germany border."

All eyes turned to Loki as he stepped into the briefing room.

"And? What did they have to report?" Charlotte asked him curtly.

"…The 500 meter tree that we had known to be Yggdrasil up until now… _is still there_." Loki said, causing most of the occupants in the room to react with shock.

"…Then, does this mean that there are 2 Yggdrasils?" Charlotte asked calmly.

However, her words incited unease among the Midgard personnel.

There had only been one Yggdrasil up until now. What did it mean for the world if there were two?

Did that mean the other Dragons also had other members of their species out there, still undiscovered?

"That much, I cannot say conclusively. However, there was something interesting in their report. At about the same time that the 100 meter tree appeared here in Japan, the electromagnetic field around the 500 meter tree at the Denmark-Germany border suddenly diminished to the point where even NIFL's precision instruments could barely detect it."

"…So, it's basically just an ordinary tree now. Rather than there being 2 Yggdrasils, it's more like Yggdrasil's consciousness transferred from the 500 meter tree in Europe to the 100 meter tree here in Japan." Charlotte commented.

Yuu frowned as he slowly connected the dots.

Yggdrasil's ability to interfere with anything that ran on electricity, the way it downloaded Marduk's blueprints into his brain, and its 'transfer' between bodies…rather than a Dragon from legends and fantasies, Yggdrasil was more like a…

"If you'll excuse me, I have to coordinate with the rest of the NIFL personnel. Though we aren't participating in the actual operation, we still have many things to do." Loki said as he prepared to leaved, but stopped at the door for a moment.

"Also, I received a call from Director Miyazawa. It appears that the Asgard officials who came to meet Lieutenant Mononobe have arrived. They have been briefed on the situation, and have ordered us to deal with the situation as swiftly as possible." Loki said, his lips twisting into a familiar sneer, and he left.

"Hmph, easy for a bunch of pencil pushers to say. Well, whatever. Orders or no orders, right now, stopping Yggdrasil's advance is paramount. Haruka, you'll have to make do with just the five of you. Even if I could get authorization to bring the rest of the Dragon Subjugation Squad out of Midgard, it'll take too long for them to get here." Charlotte said with a snort before speaking seriously

"Understood. We will head out to confront Yggdrasil immediately." Haruka said firmly.

"If possible, would you allow me to join as well?" Yuu asked as the five Dragon Subjugation Squad members prepared to move out.

Haruka suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

"I mean no offense, but you are not used to fighting _as a D_. Even if you came along, you might hinder our tactics instead." She said honestly.

Yuu frowned, but understood.

Rather than directly relying on dark matter to fight like Ds, he simply used dark matter to supplement the military fighting style that Loki had taught him.

It was lethal against humans, but useless against anything else.

It was probably true that he would only get in the way.

"…I understand. Good luck to all of you, and stay safe."

"Thank you." Haruka said as she walked out the door.

"There's no need to worry about us, Mononobe-san. This is what we have been training for."

"…We'll show you what we can do."

Lisa and Firill spoke with smiles to him as they left, though it seemed like they were trying to reassure themselves rather than him.

"Just sit back and watch, bro! We'll take care of this in an instant!" Miyako said cheerfully as she followed after.

Finally, Mitsuki was the only one left.

She looked at Yuu with a resolute gaze.

"Nii-san, there's no need for you to fight. Please leave everything to me. I'll show you how much stronger I have become." She said firmly and left to follow the rest.

Yuu frowned.

He was worried after all. This was probably the first time the Dragon Subjugation Squad was facing a real Dragon.

He couldn't shake the ominous premonition that something would go wrong.

But, the only thing he could do right now was watch.

And if the Ds could not handle Yggdrasil…

Yuu did not visibly react at the sudden stirring of _something_ inside him.

Something burning hot, much like _a flame_.

* * *

Yuu quietly watched the live feed of Yggdrasil.

Now that the operation had begun, the drone had fallen back to a further distance to avoid getting caught in the Dragon Subjugation Squad's attacks.

Between the drone and the slowly moving 100 meter tree were five girls.

Haruka, Lisa, Firill, Miyako and Mitsuki, all flying in the air, about 500 meters away from the current range of Yggdrasil's electromagnetic field and a few meters off the ground, high enough to have a clear view of the mobile tree, but low enough to quickly return to the ground if they needed to.

[The operation has begun. D1, D2, D3, D4, standby!]

[Understood!]

Over the communications channel that was set up between the Dragon Subjugation Squad and the command post, Yuu heard Haruka speaking to her four subordinates in an authoritative tone, and them responding in the affirmative.

[Ama no Murakumo!]

[Gungnir!]

[…Necronomicon!]

[Brionac!]

[Kusanagi!]

All of them summoned a sphere of dark matter, which was quickly shaped and given form, and in the next moment, they were holding a variety of weapons.

Haruka held a massive katana that almost matched her height, Lisa had a spear, Firill was holding a book, Mitsuki was wielding a bow, and Miyako was brandishing a naginata.

He found it to be a rather strange sight, especially Firill's book.

Setting Mitsuki's bow aside, how were they supposed to hit Yggdrasil from a distance with those weapons?

Perhaps his confusion was obvious, because Charlotte spoke to him.

"Mononobe Yuu, do you perhaps not know about Fictional Armaments?" She asked.

He blinked at the unfamiliar term, and shook his head in reply.

"I see. Since you didn't come to Midgard, I suppose it's only natural that you wouldn't know. The Counter Dragon Squad uses dark matter to perform attacks. However, mistakes easily occur during the transmutation process if the D cannot keep their focus, which is hardly something we can expect of them if they were confronted by a Dragon. So, they mold dark matter into the shape of a weapon that they use without actually transmuting them into actual physical matter. That's what we call a Fictional Armament. This makes it easier for them to transmute attacks since the outcome will be easier to picture, like how a sword slashes, a spear pierces and a bow shoots. It's even possible to use unconventional weapons like grimoires and magic staves to picture your attacks as magic spells, much like what Firill Crest does. Furthermore, since the Fictional Armament isn't transmuted to physical matter, only the surface is partially manifested while the remaining 99% is still dark matter, which saves them the trouble of having to summon more dark matter for transmutation until that reservoir is depleted." Charlotte explained.

Yuu nodded absentmindedly, absorbing the information.

"But…what's with the ostentatious naming?"

He recognized all of the names that the five had called their weapons.

Ama no Murakumo and Kusanagi were both from Japan's mythology, so there was no way that he didn't know about them.

Gungnir was the spear belonging to the head of the Norse Gods, Odin.

Necronomicon was a grimoire that supposedly contained spells of necromancy, and was often featured in the many RPGs that Yuu used to play.

And Brionac…wasn't that the name of the spear that Gawain, or rather, Lugh wielded? The one that would become Gae Bolg when he became Cu Chulainn, and sealed away when he became Artus's subordinate in favor of his sword?

Why was it a bow?

"Oh, that? It's better for them to model their Fictional Armaments after mythological weapons, because if they base them off the real things, they may accidently fully transmute them into physical matter. That's why we generally try to keep Ds away from Heretic Gods too, especially members of the Counter Dragon Squad. It wouldn't be good if they met a Heretic God who was wielding their own version of the same mythological weapon. Transmuting a divine weapon is outside of a D's capabilities, but just the knowledge of another version of the weapon alone may interfere with their Fictional Armament's form."

Then, it was probably a better idea to not mention the Brionac he had seen in front of Mitsuki.

But, more importantly, the way that Ds fought…he needed to see this.

[Yggdrasil can extend its branches and roots to attack, and interferes with anything that utilizes electricity. Avoid close combat and electricity-based attacks and destroy Yggdrasil's body using long-ranged attacks!]

Haruka ordered as they readied their weapons.

[Pierce, Flash!]

Lisa called out, and a beam appeared from the tip of her Fictional Armament and pierced Yggdrasil's trunk, leaving a hole in its wake.

However, considering the sheer size of the trunk, she might as well have pricked it with a needle.

Yggdrasil did not seem to slow in its advance, as though it did not even notice that it had been attacked.

[…Flare Blast Quartet!]

Firill declared in the loudest voice Yuu had ever heard coming from her, and four fireballs ignited to life in front of her before being launched at Yggdrasil.

However, unlike Lisa's beam, the four fireballs failed to break through Yggdrasil's trunk, simply splashing against the wood and did not deal any noticeable damage.

[It's tough…Mitsuki, attack at the same time as me! Fourth Strike – Incendiary Burst!]

[Second Arrow – Night Blaze!]

Miyako spun her naginata above her head and swung it down with a wide arc, releasing a large stream of flames, while Mitsuki nocked an arrow that turned into a red streak as it was fired at Yggdrasil.

Both fire-based attacks struck Yggdrasil, but like Firill's fireballs, failed to break through Yggdrasil's body.

[Third Blade – Flame Streak!]

Haruka declared as she swung her katana, causing a streak of flames to fly towards Yggdrasil.

However, just like the other three fire-based attacks before it, the massive tree simply shrugged it off.

Yuu frowned. Fire-based attacks failing to burn wood…was it petrified wood?

No, that couldn't be right. Petrifaction took thousands of years to occur. Rather than it being made of petrified wood…were they simply too far away for the attacks to have any significant impact?

[All members, advance 200 meters and resume attacks!]

Haruka appeared to have come to the same conclusion that he did, and ordered them to move closer.

But, as they did, Miyako suddenly called out.

"Nee-chan, Yggdrasil is doing something!"

The 100 meter tree's appearance had suddenly changed.

Its trunk expanded unnaturally while most of its branches suddenly seemed to retract, looking like a massive bulge.

Then, a single giant branch shot out from the bulge, which shrunk the further the branch extended.

It was headed right for them.

[All members, descend!]

Haruka called out urgently, and the five of them quickly dropped in altitude, allowing the branch to pass over their heads.

It looked like they were safe, but…

*BZZZZT*

The communications channel suddenly let out loud static, while on the screen, the five Ds suddenly dropped out of the sky with panicked expressions on their faces, though their fall was thankfully broken by the foliage below them.

And their Fictional Armaments had broken down into pure dark matter and was drawn towards the branch as it retracted back to Yggdrasil's body.

"What just happened!?"

"Haruka, report! What's going on!?" Charlotte tried to make contact with Haruka, but the communications equipment just continued to release static.

"Dammit, did their headsets fail? But, they should have been outside of the range of Yggdrasil's electromagnetic field…" The principal of Midgard cursed as she tried to figure out what was going on.

"…Wait, didn't Yggdrasil shoot out a branch just now? Could that have extended the range of its electromagnetic field?" Yuu reasoned.

"…Yes, that is a possibility. To think Yggdrasil had such a power…"

"Charlotte-sama, look at Yggdrasil!" Mica called out urgently.

Both of them turned back to the screen and froze at what they saw.

Yggdrasil… _was absorbing the dark matter of the five Ds and was growing larger._

"It stole their dark matter…I see, so that's what's going on. Dark matter responds to thoughts of Ds and changes shape and properties accordingly. However, thoughts can also be thought of as weak electrical signals. If Yggdrasil's ability has something to do with electricity…it might have hacked their dark matter by overriding their thoughts with its stronger electrical signals."

"Wait, then doesn't that mean…?"

"Yes. Yggdrasil… _is the worst possible enemy for Ds_."

Yuu turned back to the screen with an expression of horror.

Now that it was larger, having grown by almost a full 50 meters, it was moving faster than before, and the range of its electromagnetic field had likely expanded as well.

Dark matter was useless once it was in the range of Yggdrasil's electromagnetic field.

In that case, the Dragon Subjugation Squad had no means of fighting it.

They were going to be killed at this rate.

His new friends were going to die.

 _Mitsuki was going to die_.

Yuu felt white hot anger envelop his psyche, and he rose from his seated position.

"Principal, I'll be going to save them. They don't stand a chance against Yggdrasil if it can just steal their dark matter."

"…Even if you go, what can you do? You can't use your dark matter either."

"I know. That's why I won't be fighting as a D. I'll be fighting…as a Campione." He declared.

He knew what he could do as a Campione. His instincts were basically yelling at him.

Yuu allowed the 'flame' inside of him to rise to the surface, and a stream of flames burst into life around his right hand.

They dispersed as quickly as they appeared, and in Yuu's hand was a familiar flaming western sword.

It was time to stop acting like a human.

* * *

Mitsuki panted heavily as she and the other members of the Dragon Subjugation Squad ran through the forest they had fallen into.

The ground beneath them trembled with great force as the Green Dragon moved as well, making their task even more difficult.

Haruka had come to the conclusion that Yggdrasil's power over electricity allowed it to hijack their dark matter, and thus, they had to put some distance between it and them before they could safely resume their attack.

Unfortunately, after using their dark matter to grow, the giant tree appeared to be moving faster than before, and was not allowing them to open up any more distance than they already had.

The wounds she had sustained from the fall were light because the foliage above had broken her fall, but they still stung as Mitsuki strained to keep up her running speed.

Her legs ached, her lungs burned. Even on pain of death, she did not know how much longer she could keep running.

Perhaps Miyako could sense Mitsuki's will wavering, because she grabbed her best friend's hand and pulled her forward.

"Come on, Mitsuki! We need to keep moving!" Miyako said urgently.

Mitsuki gritted her teeth and strained to keep up.

She dared to glance behind them, only to see the now 150 meter tall Yggdrasil getting closer and closer to them, looming threateningly over them.

It was no use, Mitsuki realized in despair. Without their dark matter, they had no hope of outrunning something that gigantic.

The distance that they covered by running as fast as they could, the Green Dragon easily matched with just one of its massive strides of its feet-like roots.

They were going to be caught if they didn't do something.

But what? Judging by the distance between them, there was no way that they had managed to escape the range of Yggdrasil's electromagnetic field.

If they tried generating dark matter now, Yggdrasil would just hijack and steal it to grow even more, causing its electromagnetic field to expand even further.

What could they possibly do? Without dark matter, they were just ordinary humans.

And ordinary humans…could not defeat Dragons.

"Kya!" Mitsuki let out a cry of shock when the foot she put forward met unexpected resistance, causing her to fall flat on her face on the forest floor.

Because she wasn't looking forward, she hadn't seen the uneven terrain that they were now traversing.

"Mitsuki!"

The others quickly rushed to help her to her feet, but even that momentary pause in their movement cost them dearly.

Immediately, the distance between Yggdrasil and them closed almost completely, and the tremors of the ground grew so great that they struggled to remain standing.

It was over.

Yggdrasil had caught up to them.

It didn't look like it was aiming for them in particular, but it was just so massive that its mere passage would crush them.

Come to think of it, it hadn't deviated from its original course towards Tokyo.

Perhaps it was a miscalculation on their part to stay in that path. If they hadn't, it might have just passed them by.

No, they had already committed errors even before that.

Brazenly challenging the Green Dragon was a mistake in itself, considering how little they actually knew about its abilities.

And the final mistake had been committed by Mitsuki herself.

Not paying attention to the path they were taking, tripping because of that, which in turn caused her comrades, her dear comrades who cared so much for her, to stop and help her, and allowed Yggdrasil to reach them.

They were going to die.

Mitsuki felt so very frustrated.

Once again, a Dragon was taking everything from her.

The Hekatonkheir had devastated her hometown, and even after it was defeated, it still managed to continue tormenting her when her brother was taken away by NIFL.

And now, almost a year later, when she had finally managed to reunite with him, Yggdrasil was going to take her and her comrades' lives?

Mitsuki was frustrated.

But, more than that, she was afraid.

It was the instinctual fear that all living creatures felt when they realized they were going to die.

She did not want to die…she didn't want to die!

"… _Nii-san!"_

A shadow loomed over them and grew rapidly larger as Yggdrasil lowered its feet-like roots, about to crush them.

Mitsuki's eyes automatically snapped shut as she braced for the impending pain and death.

She flinched when a loud crash reverberated through the area…but was confused when she realized that she was still very much alive, and that pain that came with being crushed by a giant tree did not come.

And was it just her, or had the temperature of the surroundings suddenly increased?

She opened her eyes, only to see what appeared to be a small flaming comet hitting Yggdrasil dead center in its trunk.

The Green Dragon's body let out a groaning sound as it toppled over backwards, shaking the earth and releasing a plume of dirt.

Whatever had struck Yggdrasil landed on the ground near them, the flames coating it slowly dissipating…

…to reveal Mononobe Yuu, holding a flaming western sword in his right hand.

The same sword she had seen the Heretic God use to wound him just yesterday.

"Nii-san…?"

But, she paid little attention to that. What really drew her notice was the look on his face.

The expression of apoplectic rage that contorted his facial features so much that she almost didn't recognize him.

An expression that would better suit a wild animal than a human.

"…All of you, please retreat back to the command post immediately. _Leave everything to me_."

Contrary to his expression, Yuu's voice was level and calm.

Mitsuki shuddered at the last four words in particular.

The same four words he had spoken when he defeated the Hekatonkheir…and was then taken away by NIFL.

"Y-You want us to leave you to fight alone!? You must be joking!" Lisa exclaimed.

"T-That's right, bro! Once we get out of the range of Yggdrasil's electromagnetic field, we can support you from-"

"I'm being serious." Yuu calmly interrupted Miyako.

"If you are anywhere in the vicinity… _I can't guarantee you won't get caught up in my attacks_."

Yuu had not raised his voice or anything, but there was a sudden intensity in his tone that made arguing impossible, causing their protests to fall silent.

"…Understood, Lieutenant Mononobe. We'll leave this to you, and return to the command post." Haruka said after a while.

The rest of them did not protest, and obediently followed her, seemingly cowed by Yuu's forcefulness.

Mitsuki trailed after them, filled with nothing but regret.

After the Hekatonkheir incident, when she came to Midgard, she vowed she would get stronger, so that she could protect what she treasured with her own two hands.

So that she would never have to burden Yuu again, she had thrown herself into training, in order to fight the loathsome existences known as Dragons.

And even after all that…she still wasn't capable of standing by his side?

It was truly…frustrating.

And she was probably not the only one who felt that way.

Painfully aware of their powerlessness, Mitsuki and the rest of the Dragon Subjugation Squad continued their interrupted retreat.

* * *

Yuu waited until he could no longer sense the Dragon Subjugation Squad members' presences within the range of his enhanced sixth sense's perception.

That was good. He was being serious earlier when he said that he couldn't be certain that they wouldn't get caught up in his attacks.

He was instinctively aware about how to use the Divine Authority he had usurped from Gawain. The words he needed to activate it came to him as soon as he thought about it. He knew what it did. The Authority would surely respond to his need.

However, it was precisely because the Authority was so responsive to him that he wasn't sure that he would be able to control it. Not the way he was right now.

He had desperately holding back his rage. The negativity he had felt at every little thing.

His anger towards Loki, the indignation when he deduced that Yggdrasil had deceived him, his irritation towards Miyako's and Mitsuki's status as best friends, his annoyance towards everyone's overly polite way of addressing him.

He had been suppressing all of it, and it had been working too.

Until just now, when the Dragon Subjugation Squad was almost killed by Yggdrasil.

When _Mitsuki_ was almost killed by Yggdrasil.

The dam that had been holding back the flood of negativity began to break down at that moment, and was threatening to burst at any given time.

If he tried using his Authority at that moment, he feared that his rage would drive him into using it without restraint, and utterly destroy the surrounding area.

And the Dragon Subjugation Squad along with it.

But now that they had retreated to what he deemed to be a safe distance…

… _there was no longer a need for him to hold back._

Yuu turned his full attention to Yggdrasil.

The massive tree made for an odd sight as it got up from its toppled position and stood at its full height of 150 meters.

However, it could not conceal that scorched gouge in its trunk from when Yuu had rammed into it.

The Green Dragon did not seem to notice.

Instead, its focus was on him.

[Neun, confirmed. Propose, reestablishment of connection. Consider, presence of large number of humans.]

Yuu heard Yggdrasil's cold, mechanical voice speak in his head.

It appeared to have noticed whatever it had done to him had been undone, and was now trying to regain its hold over him.

It even appeared to be threatening the lives of Tokyo's residents to force him to comply.

But, Yuu ignored it.

His focus was elsewhere.

" _You worthless, overgrown weed…you dared to deceive me."_

" _You dared to harm my friends."_

" _You dared to try to kill Mitsuki!"_

" _Unforgiveable!"_

" _I won't forgive you!"_

" _ **I'll kill you!"**_

The dam shattered completely, and every living creature in the area shuddered as cold, intense, pitch black murderousness blanketed the surroundings.

The massive tree seemed to take several large steps back.

Yuu was now completely focused on destroying Yggdrasil.

[Neun, threat level raised. Conclusion, immediate subduing is required.]

Yggdrasil seemed to realize that Yuu was aiming to kill it, and was now responding.

Several sharp branches extended towards Yuu.

The Seventh Campione swung Galatine, releasing a stream of flames far larger than any the Dragon Subjugation Squad had been able to fire.

In the face of a divine inferno, the branches were immolated and reduced to ashes in an instant.

[Error. Divinity detected from Neun. Further analysis required.]

Yuu's eyes narrowed. So, it was able to tell that his attack possessed a divine nature?

Yggdrasil extended even more branches towards him, all of which met the same fate as the previous ones with a few swings of Galatine.

It was truly incredible. Not Galatine's power, though that was amazing in its own right.

No, it was the way that Yuu seemed to instinctively know how to wield the divine sword he had usurped from Gawain.

The best stance to hold it into to ensure that he could respond to an attack from any direction and yet show no openings. The best way to swing it to minimize the energy he used while maximizing power.

It was very much like the way Gawain wielded this sword against him.

It was as though Galatine was sharing that knowledge with him.

The fact that its attacks were not reaching him at all did not seem to deter Yggdrasil, which simply continued to attack him with its branches.

He did notice that it seemed to be getting a little shorter every time it attacked. Was it converting its trunk into branches to replace the ones he had destroyed?

However, Yuu quickly realized that that was not all there was to Yggdrasil's attack.

The ground beneath him trembled, and then shattered as massive roots shot up to wrap themselves tightly around him.

Soon, Yuu was unable to move, much less swing Galatine to break out.

He was completely trapped within the wooden cocoon Yggdrasil had spun around him.

[Neun, capture complete. Beginning analysis…]

Yuu heard Yggdrasil's cold voice again.

However, this time, there was a certain emotion in it.

Smugness.

It appeared to be feeling rather smug that it had captured him, but…

"…Do you honestly believe that this is enough to capture me?" Yuu voiced coldly.

In the next instant, waves of flames washed over the area, and the cocoon binding him was disintegrated.

Flames curled around and coated Yuu's body, but they did not burn him.

They were his flames, after all.

This was a part of the Authority he had usurped from Gawain.

If he had to give a name to it, it would be…the Sun-Blessed Knight.

As long as the sun hung in the air above, Yuu was invincible.

It was the same Authority that prevented Gawain from receiving any injuries from Yuu's attacks.

It did not even matter if he was not directly under the sun. Even if he was in a building, or underground, as long as he was in the half of the planet the sun was illuminating, this passive power would activate.

However, there was a boon if he was directly exposed to sunlight, even just a modicum of it.

Namely, he could expel divine flames from his body, like he had done just now.

It was the same power he used to coat his body in flames when he had crashed into Yggdrasil earlier.

If Yggdrasil, possessing the ability to hijack dark matter, was a D's worst enemy, then he, possessing divine flames so hot that even that enhanced wooden body was unable to avoid being burned, he was Yggdrasil's worst enemy.

[Error. Code Neun not detected from vessel. Unable to compute. Need to consider options.]

Yggdrasil completely paused in its attacks, causing Yuu some confusion.

What was it saying? What was this 'Neun' that it kept talking about? He had absolutely no idea.

However, if it wasn't going to attack, Yuu would go on the offensive instead.

Using his new physical capabilities afforded to him as a Campione, Yuu easily climbed onto Yggdrasil's massive body and started ascending.

The Green Dragon did not respond at all, completely frozen in place.

Once Yuu was near the top of the 150 meter tall tree, he leapt off and spun himself around in midair to face the Green Dragon.

He raised Galatine above his head as words of power began to spill from his mouth.

"O Immortal Sun, let your light shine down on this blade! I hereby vow, all things shall be burnt, scorched, melted and incinerated, their ashes scattered to the wind! As I raise this sword, what I bring forth is the dawn of victory!" Yuu declared.

Galatine's blade, originally already covered in flames, was suddenly surrounded by a raging inferno.

This was probably the Authority that Gawain was trying to use on him until he had interrupted the incantation by headbutting the Heretic God.

"Begone."

Yuu swung Galatine downwards, and a miniature sun exploded into existence as it crashed into the Green Dragon's body.

[Unable to sustain continued existence. Abandoning current terminal.]

Yuu vaguely heard Yggdrasil's voice speak before the sun exploded, and the area was engulfed by a nova.

* * *

Back at Asgard's First Laboratory, the Asgard officials who had come to meet the new Campione and find a way to force…ahem, _convince_ him to help them, watched the live feed from the unmanned drone, utterly spellbound as the Seventh Campione made short work of one of the 7 Dragons that terrorized humanity.

They were temporarily blinded by the intense luminance that Mononobe Yuu's final attack had released, even after being filtered by the surveillance system, and when the light died down enough for them to open their eyes again, it was to be greeted by an image of utter devastation.

The earth had been gouged out, leaving a massive smoldering crater that extended almost a full kilometer in diameter.

Flames still burnt and ate away at the area, annihilating most of the forest.

It was as though divine wrath had been brought down onto the world at that location, which actually was pretty close to the truth.

And above the crater, slowly descending from the sky while still covered in flames, was the Campione in question, Mononobe Yuu.

That visage gave off an incredible impression, as though he was an angel descending from the heavens.

However, they all knew that that couldn't be further from the truth.

What they were seeing was not the work of an angel, but a devil.

A God Slaying Devil King.

Asgard was forcefully reminded of just how much power a Campione possessed.

All of their carefully thought out plans had been completely derailed with just that one incident.

They only knew one thing.

They could not afford to make an enemy out of him.

* * *

Back at the Denmark-Germany border, the NIFL equipment there recorded the sudden reappearance of the 500 meter tall tree's electromagnetic field, spanning 2 kilometers in radius.

Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone around to take note of the readings, because all of NIFL's personnel had been dispatched to destroy the colossal tree while the field was down.

Needless to say, all of them met gruesome ends as an agitated Yggdrasil absentmindedly crushed them.

As for why the Green Dragon was agitated…

[Error. Code Neun was not detected in vessel.]

[Observation: Code Neun was present in vessel during first establishment of connection.]

[Observation: Vessel shown to be able to use Divine Authorities.]

[Conclusion: Vessel has become one of the Witch's bastard children.]

[Conclusion: Vessel's ascension resulted in loss of Code Neun.]

[Conclusion: Code Neun presently possesses no holder, and can be inherited by any being that comes in contact with it.]

[Course of action determined. Locate Code Neun's location and retrieve. Searching Akashic Records for place of vessel's ascension…]

Unknown to the rest of the world, Yggdrasil ruminated, searching for its only means of survival.

* * *

That's the end of that!

As you can see, Yuu's personality has become slightly warped due to his becoming a Campione. I think this is only natural, Campione are extremely emotional, even when compared to humans.

Also, his dark matter generating ability has changed. As for how, it will be revealed in later chapters.

The Authority Yuu usurped from Gawain has been revealed.

Its name is Chivalrous Knight of the Sun. It's basically an Authority that is spilt into sub-Authorities.

The first is the Sun-Blessed Knight. As explained above, it's a passive Authority that, as long as Yuu is anywhere within the half of the planet that is currently being illuminated by sunlight, renders him invincible until the sun sets. And when he is directly exposed to sunlight, he can expel divine flames from his body.

The second is Galatine, of course. Like Sun-Blessed Knight, Galatine's full power is exhibited while under the sun. However, unlike Sun-Blessed Knight, Galatine can still be used when the sun has set. However, doing so will drain Yuu of his body heat, which makes it very dangerous.

Both share a common weakness. They lose their potency when not under the sun. It doesn't have to be when the sun sets and night falls. If the sun's power is blocked, the same thing will occur. Of course, because it's a Divine Authority, it isn't affected by something as mundane as clouds covering the sun. It would have to be something on the scale of a solar eclipse, or obstacles infused with divine power, such as the storm clouds that Voban's Sturm und Drang produces.

There is also a third sub-Authority, but it has yet to be revealed.

I think that's it.

I'll be taking a break for a while, maybe a month, to recharge. I have _not_ been sleeping well lately. Plus, I have a brand new PS4 to break in.

Next chapter, when it comes, will probably be Asgard's rather pathetic attempts to negotiate with Yuu.

That's all for now. As always, please read and review, and Merry Christmas to all!


	3. Chapter 2: The Truth of Code Lost

Palpable tension filled the air as what appeared to be all of the upper echelons of Asgard, the global organization formed in the wake of the advents of the Dragons and the Heretic Gods, stared nervously at the person seated in the center of the room, surrounded by the circular desk they were seated in.

Yuu stared unflinchingly ahead at the current director of Asgard, the former prime minister of Japan, Ito Eizo, the only person who wasn't treating him like a live nuke, at least not on the surface, and was meeting his gaze evenly.

Yuu felt just a tiny bit of respect for him for that. Not bad for a pencil pusher.

"Is that the end of your report, Lieutenant Mononobe?" Eizo asked the newest Campione, gesturing to the short report that every other occupant in the room had a copy of.

A report Yuu had written after the end of the operation to eliminate Yggdrasil, as the continuation to Haruka's report, detailing what happened from the moment of his intervention to save Midgard's Dragon Subjugation Squad to the moment that Yggdrasil's physical body had been destroyed.

Of course, he did not include everything. Nothing about what Yggdrasil had said, and certainly nothing about his Authorities.

He wasn't going to give people who could potentially stab him in the back anything to work with.

"Yes, it is." Yuu replied shortly, not bothering with any honorifics despite the fact that he was addressing the man that ultimately controlled Asgard, NIFL and Midgard.

Everyone in the room knew full well who the true superior was.

His rank of Second Lieutenant was now pretty much just in name. As a Campione, his authority vastly exceeded that of any military rank, and was as good as a royal title in the eyes of the magical community.

His continued association with Asgard was only because he had yet to say anything to the contrary.

If he wished to leave Asgard, he could do so, and no one would be able to stop him.

It was absolutely impossible for a human to shackle a God Slayer.

But, it didn't mean that someone wouldn't try.

He didn't think anyone present in the room, including Loki and Charlotte B. Lord, who were standing behind Eizo, would do anything drastic. They were the kind that would attempt persuasion rather than coercion.

Well, maybe not Loki, considering how his first meeting with the Major went, but he just had the gut feeling that Loki would not try something…as long as Yuu played ball.

And that was exactly what he intended to do.

Yuu may have inexplicitly gained a monumental amount of pride, but he would let that get in the way of what was really important to him.

And as long as he played along with Loki, the Major would be his possibly greatest ally instead of his worst enemy.

"Very well then, Lieutenant Mononobe. You may leave. You will be debriefed later." Eizo said with a smile and dismissed Yuu.

Yuu returned the smile and rose from his seat.

All eyes followed every movement he made, as though worried that he would suddenly draw Galatine and start hacking and slashing everyone in the room.

It wasn't until he shut the door behind him that he vaguely heard a collective sigh of relief from inside.

It was actually quite amusing.

*GROWL*

Yuu frowned as his stomach rumbled noisily.

It hadn't been that long since he had eaten what was basically a feast, but he was already hungry again.

Well, he supposed that was to be expected after using his Authority for the first time. The energy needed to use a divine power was massive, even under the best conditions.

He would have to work on it to cut down the drain as much as possible.

After witnessing the sheer firepower that had been behind a single swing of his blade, it was hard to imagine anything that could survive more than a single blow, but Heretic Gods were beings that exceeded common sense.

There was a reason why some of them had been able to kill his fellow Campione of the past, most of them possessing more experience and definitely more Authorities than him.

He had to crack down on all of his weaknesses immediately.

But, right now, he just needed to get some food in his stomach.

The cafeteria was on the 10th floor if he remembered correctly.

He started walking towards the elevator…and did not even take 3 steps before he stopped, his instincts reacting.

Someone…no, 2 people were watching him.

He turned around sharply, and he caught movement out of the corner of his vision, a shadow disappearing around the corner of the hallway just as he was turning.

He sensed two presences quickly moving away.

Should he chase after them?

"Oh, bro! You done already?"

The decision was taken out of his hands when someone called out to him.

Yuu returned his gaze forward to find the five members of the Dragon Subjugation Squad walking towards him.

Miyako was smiling as brightly as ever, but the other four looked pretty down.

"For now, anyway. Right now, they're probably trying to figure out a way to get on my good side. What's with you guys? Why the long faces?" Yuu replied and asked in turn.

"Oh, them? They're just depressed since Yggdrasil trashed us pretty badly. We are supposed to be the Dragon Subjugation Squad after all." Miyako replied with a shrug.

But, Yuu could tell from her eyes that she was pretty glum about it too.

"Don't feel bad about it. Ds just have a bad compatibility with Yggdrasil's power. With an ability like that, probably even Black Vritra would have been helpless against it."

"Easy for you to say. You destroyed Yggdrasil in an instant."

"Only because I didn't use dark matter. And I'm a Campione. Common sense doesn't apply to me. Plus, Yggdrasil isn't dead."

"Wait, what?"

"I can't really explain it, but something is telling me that I didn't manage to properly kill Yggdrasil. Plus, I heard we've lost contact with the NIFL troops who were stationed where Yggdrasil's 500-meter tall body is, shortly after I destroyed the one here. It's not confirmed yet, but I think Yggdrasil's consciousness managed to escape back to its original body before I could destroy it."

"Lost contact…does that mean that they're…"

"Probably. I heard Asgard ordered them to destroy the original body while we were being attacked by the one here. You can imagine that Yggdrasil would take exception to that."

"You would be correct, Lieutenant Mononobe. We have confirmed the deaths of all NIFL personnel who had been stationed at the Germany-Denmark border, and the electromagnetic field that had dissipated when the second body appeared here in Japan has returned."

Yuu turned back once more, this time to find Loki, Charlotte B. Lord and Mica Stuart emerging from the conference room.

"That was fast. Is the meeting over already?"

"More or less. We have been sent to debrief you and the Dragon Subjugation Squad. Shall we adjourn to somewhere more private?"

* * *

"First off, as you have just heard, Yggdrasil's survival has been confirmed. The 500-meter tree is active once more, and has wiped out the squadron that was sent to destroy it. Another squadron is being sent to take over monitoring duties, while Asgard comes up with a plan to deal with the Green Dragon, which brings us to our next point." Loki spoke.

They had moved to a smaller meeting room than the one that the upper echelons of Asgard had gathered in to listen to the report on the Yggdrasil incident.

Loki's words surprised no one, since they had pretty much already picked up on it.

"Second, thanks to an analysis on a piece of Yggdrasil's secondary body which somehow managed to survive Lieutenant Mononobe Yuu's rather spectacular Authority, we now have a clear understanding of what Yggdrasil really is." Charlotte B. Lord continued.

She stopped , a complicated expression appearing on her face, before she spoke again.

"Yggdrasil is…the collective core consciousness of all plant life on Earth."

Yuu blinked.

Core consciousness? He had not heard the term before. From what he had observed from Yggdrasil, the Green Dragon seemed more like a…

"Well, to put it simply, the being we know as Green Yggdrasil is the Operating System of a massive biological computer formed from all plant life on Earth." Charlotte put it in a simpler manner, seeing the looks of confusion on the faces of the Midgard students, an expression they shared with Yuu.

"W-Wait, would that not mean that all plant life on Earth is collectively a Dragon? In that case, why has Yggdrasil not taken action any sooner? Plants exist all over the world. If all plant life is considered a Dragon, I hate to say it, but humanity would not stand a chance against it." Haruka interjected.

"It's not that simple. From the analysis, it appears that the only plant that Yggdrasil is capable of fully manipulating is the one its consciousness is currently inhabiting. You can think of Yggdrasil's main body as the CPU while all other plants are simply external memory. That's why, when the consciousness moved from its main terminal at the Germany-Denmark border to the one here in Japan, the 500 meter tree lost its processing power, causing the electromagnetic field to dissipate." The principal of Midgard replied.

"If that is the case, would destroying Yggdrasil's main body solve the problem?"

"Unfortunately not. As it demonstrated, even after its body was destroyed by Lieutenant Mononobe's Authority, its consciousness simply transferred back to the 500 meter terminal. From this, we can deduce that Yggdrasil's consciousness will simply escape to another plant even if we destroy the current terminal."

"In that case…isn't that the same as saying that Yggdrasil can't be killed unless all plant life on Earth is destroyed!?"

"…Essentially, yes. That is why Asgard is having trouble coming up with an idea to counter Yggdrasil."

"…If it's no different from a computer, couldn't we destroy the OS with a virus of sorts?" Yuu proposed, thinking back to everything he knew about computers.

"Plausible, but I do not believe that humanity's current level of technology is capable of creating a virus capable of affecting something with as much processing power as Yggdrasil." Loki shook his head with a wry smile.

"…In other words, as it stands, there's no way to defeat Yggdrasil without dooming humanity in the process?"

In an age of industrialization, it was absolutely impossible for humans to survive without the existence of plant life. Without plants, herbivores that were food sources for not only humans, but also carnivorous animals, would quickly extinct, which would then lead to the extinction of carnivores, as well as the omnivorous human race. Assuming they didn't all die first from suffocation following the massive atmospheric change, with a huge decrease in oxygen and even greater increase in carbon dioxide.

"That's pretty impressive, acquiring all of this data in just a few short hours. As expected, Asgard is keeping all the good stuff for itself." Yuu commented lightly.

He had seen the level of technology of NIFL possessed, and while it was impressive, even with that, it was hard for him to imagine that it was possible to gain that much data from a single fragment, no doubt badly charred from being in point blank range of his Authority, in such a short amount of time.

Was the level of technology that Asgard was keeping for itself that much greater than that of NIFL?

Yuu frowned when he noticed Loki and Charlotte exchanging tense, but knowing looks.

He was definitely missing something.

"Yes…leaving that aside, let us move onto the final subject. Lieutenant Mononobe, this has to do with you."

It wasn't as though he hadn't been paying attention before, but since this was about him, Yuu's focus did indeed sharpen.

"With your ascension to the transcendent existence known as the Campione, Asgard has seen fit to release you from NIFL. Well, that's how they wished for me to word it to you, but the truth of the matter is, they're afraid that you will lash out if you were to perceive your service in NIFL as a shackle." Loki said nonchalantly.

Yuu nodded expressionlessly.

Rather than rehearsed speeches meant to flatter him, he preferred brutal honesty, even if it was something that would annoy him.

"However, Asgard would also like to present you with an offer. In return for your official affiliation with Asgard, they are prepared to offer you a generous salary, as well as various magic artifacts gathered by the mages' half of the organization, permission to go to and from Midgard at your leisure, amongst other benefits." Loki continued.

In other words, he would not be considered a D, but a Campione.

All eyes simultaneously turned to stare at him, wondering how he would respond.

Chief among them was Mitsuki's. Hers was a pleading gaze, as though she was asking him to come to Midgard with her.

Though he did indeed still possess Dark Matter Generation, at a much greater scale than before, no less, his Dragon Mark had vanished, so he wasn't too sure whether he could still be considered a D.

And even if he was, his status as a Campione carried far more weight.

There were also benefits to working independently, like not having to report to anyone, and being able to do anything at his own discretion, but there were just as many, if not even more, if he were to officially affiliate himself with Asgard.

Having branches all over the world, Asgard would be the first to know if a Heretic God descended literally anywhere on Earth. If he were to affiliate himself with Asgard, he would come to know the whereabouts of attacking Heretic Gods, likely before any of the other Campione, and thus he would be able to get to them faster.

Madame Aisha was basically a non-factor, Sasha Dejanstahl Voban and Luo Cuilian isolated themselves away from civilization, which made it difficult for news to reach their ears, John Pluto Smith only seemed to be interested in North and South America while basing himself in LA, and while Alexander Gascoigne and Salvatore Doni were part of magical organizations, the former having founded his own, their operations were basically only limited to their own countries.

Yuu could only assume it was a result of his having become a Campione, but he felt a strong sense of obligation, or rather, a strong desire to fight Heretic Gods, and a sense of competitiveness with his kin.

He wanted to be stronger than them. Even if he was the youngest of the 7, he intended to prove that he was better than any of them. That he was superior to them.

But, he would have to avoid their territories first.

As it stood, all of them were older, more experienced, and most importantly, possessed more Authorities than he did.

If he were to get into a fight with any of them, there was no doubt in his mind that he would lose.

As such, there was no reason for him to provoke their anger by intruding into their territory and stealing their prey.

He would have to bide his time. Train the Authorities he had obtained from Gawain, kill more Heretic Gods and usurp their Authorities, train them, until he was confident that he would be able to stand up against his seniors.

And preferably, he should get started on it soon. He heard that the Sixth Campione, Salvatore Doni, had a very troublesome personality and even went out of his way to provoke their kin into fighting him.

Wreaking havoc in LA to draw Smith out, interrupting a ritual Voban had been performing to summon a powerful Heretic God and even killing said Heretic God in front of the First Campione, breaking into Luo Cuilian's mountainous territory to challenge her, and chasing Alexander Gascoigne all over Britain before the latter finally gave in and fought him.

If it weren't for the fact that no one knew where Madame Aisha was, he probably would have challenged her too.

Going by that trend, it was a safe bet to say that Doni would come for him soon once he figured out who and where he was.

But, the difference was that all of the Campione Doni had challenged were his seniors.

Yuu was a wet behind the ears, freshly minted Campione. The roles would be completely reversed if he and Doni ever met.

That was why, he needed to hurry and master Gawain's Authorities, and if possible, gain at least one more Authority, preferably one that wasn't one of the Sun.

He didn't want to become some kind of one trick pony. That was basically asking to get killed.

Yuu paused in his train of thought and almost smiled wryly at what he had been thinking.

Just a few days ago, it would have been inconceivable for him to even consider fighting Heretic Gods and the other Campione, and now, he was almost eager to do so.

Just what other changes had becoming a Campione brought about?

But, in any case, the most important benefit in working with Asgard no doubt lay in the man standing in front of him.

"…Major Loki, correct me if I'm wrong, but even if I were to refuse Asgard's offer, theoretically, there wouldn't be any repercussions, because I am a Campione, a being just as feared as Dragons or Heretic Gods, and normal humans would not be crazy enough to try anything that could potentially set me off."

"Correct." Loki concurred with a smile.

"But, in reality, there will always be a group of idiots who didn't get the memo, mostly because they are just too thickheaded for anything resembling common sense to sink in properly."

"Correct, and you can assume that they are not limited to solely factions within Asgard. Many, many people around the world would be interested in getting a Campione under their thumb." Loki agreed once more, his smile growing wider, while everyone else around them seemed to be increasingly confused by their exchange, with the notable, and not at all surprising exception of Charlotte B. Lord, and perhaps Mica Stewart, though that might just be her usual stoicism at play.

"And while I'm confident that I can handle anything they throw at me with my training and the abilities afforded to me as a Campione, it would be a different matter if they went after my loved ones instead. My family, for example."

The breaths of the Midgard students hitched as they finally understood his point.

"Well, Mitsuki is probably safe while she's at Midgard, heavily guarded by Midgardsormr which combines technology and magic to form an impregnable barrier against humans, magic user or not. However, our parents are a different story. They are civilians, surrounded by other civilians, in the middle of a perfectly mundane mountain town. In other words, they are _vulnerable_."

"Correct again. And considering that your name has been made famous worldwide overnight, by now, some unscrupulous parties would have found out everything they could about you. Including your parents' identities and whereabouts." Loki added, his smile now practically splitting his face.

Mitsuki looked like she was about to break out into full blown panic, but Yuu kept his cool.

"…This is my offer, not to Asgard, but to you, Major Loki. I will accept Asgard's offer without imposing any more of my own conditions. In return, I want you to ensure the safety of my parents." Yuu proposed to Loki.

The truth of the matter was, if Yuu wished to affiliate himself with Asgard, he could add any number of conditions to the original offer, no matter how ridiculous they were, and the higher ups would be falling over themselves to agree.

He could order them to jump, and their asses would be in the air before they asked how high.

But, he was willing to throw all of that away and accept the current conditions as they were.

All to ensure the safety of his parents.

And almost ironically, the person he trusted least in the world was the one he trusted most to do so.

Loki wasn't fazed in the slightest. Evidently, he figured this was coming.

"Of course, Lieutenant Mononobe. I can easily assign Sleipnir to keep watch over your parents-"

"While I acknowledge the skills of my former teammates, they're not who I had in mind. I want Hreidmar to guard my parents." Yuu interrupted Loki.

Loki's smile finally slipped, and through the expressionless façade plastered on his face, Yuu could tell that the normally unflappable Major had been rendered momentarily speechless.

"Hreid…mar? What does a mythological character have to do with anything?" Firill asked in confusion.

Hreidmar wasn't exactly a name that most parents would choose for their kids. He was a rather obscure character in Norse Mythology, the father of the treasure hoarding Dragon, Fafnir, whose name Yuu had been given as his codename.

However, the one Yuu was referring to was definitely not a myth.

"Hreidmar is the codename of one of the soldiers under Major Loki's command. Before I became a Campione, he was…well, I guess I can't really say instructor, because we have never directly interacted with each other. However, my fighting style was based off of his."

When Yuu was first (forcefully) recruited by Loki, one of his main training programs was doing absolutely nothing but sitting still and watch Hreidmar fight against humans for hours on end.

Yuu did not mind it, because Hreidmar's fighting style was just so refined that even his young 13 year old mind was able to appreciate it.

Subduing enemy combatants with a single wasteful movement, moving faster than lightly armed enemies despite wearing bulky silver white full body armor, defeating entire groups of enemies without getting a single scratch, dodging bullets at close range seamlessly and without hesitation.

Superhuman was the only way to describe Hreidmar, the previous Fafnir before Yuu had come along.

And it was that very same fighting style that Yuu employed as a human, modified to suit a lithe, lightly armed combatant like himself rather than a fighter with a big build like Hreidmar.

If he was asked whose fighting style was superior, Yuu would have to say that his was.

It was not his pride talking. Hreidmar was superhuman, but Yuu had been so as well even before becoming a Campione.

If they were speaking purely in terms of physical specs, Yuu's superior speed would quickly wear down the bulkier Hreidmar, though in return, a single connected attack from his reference would hurt like hell, if it didn't outright kill him.

That was why he was confident that…

"And most importantly, Major Loki, Hreidmar would never lose to a human, mage or not, am I correct?"

Loki stared at him impassively a moment longer before answering.

"Of course. The only human capable of defeating Hreidmar was you before your ascension, and that was only if you were capable of letting go of that rather obstinate desire to not take a human life." Loki acknowledged.

That was correct.

Though Yuu was superior, if only slightly, to Hreidmar in terms of pure specs, there was a very big difference between the two of them, one so great that Hreidmar would most definitely have been able to turn the tables on Yuu if they had fought before the former's ascension.

It was in their mentality.

Yuu, wishing to preserve as much as he could of the boy who had been Mononobe Yuu, Mitsuki's older brother, had obstinately refused to take a single human life.

And thus, Fafnir's full power, which required that he embrace true murderous intent against humans, was inaccessible to him.

Thus, Hreidmar, who had no such qualms, was superior, despite being an inferior Fafnir by Loki's own admission.

Loki hadn't had a problem with that, because even without Fafnir's full power, Yuu was absolutely superior to almost all human combatants, even mages.

Supremely destructive spells that could devastate the surroundings were rather pointless if the caster was rendered unconscious before they could even get started.

However, Hreidmar took it even further. While Yuu would just slam the hilt of his combat knife into the back of an enemy combatant's skull to give them a concussion and knock them unconscious, Hreidmar would drive the blade straight in and sever their brain stem, killing them instantly and preventing them from flailing around even after death.

Hreidmar was, for all intents and purposes, a killing machine.

If they had fought to the death back when Yuu was still a human, he would have lost. Badly. And then die.

It was a rather moot point now that Yuu was a Campione. If he wanted to, he could quite literally wipe the floor with the previous Fafnir.

Ah, the perks of having divine powers.

But leaving his new absolute superiority to Hreidmar, and the entire human race, aside, if Yuu had to choose someone to protect his loved ones, it would most definitely be Hreidmar.

Expecting him to defeat a Dragon or a Heretic God was too much. Even Yuu's victories over Hekatonkheir and Gawain when he was human could be attributed to a fuck ton of lucky circumstances.

But, humans would never be able to defeat Hreidmar. That was something that Yuu, who was also a Fafnir, understood better than anyone else.

He and Loki stared each other down for a good long while, the atmosphere becoming so tense that no one else in the room dared to speak.

Then, Loki smiled.

"Of course. If that is what you want. I will assign Hreidmar indefinitely to guarding your parents."

Yuu frowned.

Indefinite? He hadn't been expecting that. His desire had simply been for Hreidmar to guard his parents until he became strong enough that even the most thickheaded of individuals would hesitate to anger him.

"Will he be okay with that? I can't imagine guarding a pair of civilians indefinitely is a very glamourous mission."

"Hreidmar does not have any personal desires. And even if he did, they do not matter. A Campione is an infinitely more valuable asset than he is." Loki answered bluntly.

Yuu twitched at the wording, but accepted the significance.

"Very well then, I will inform Asgard of your acceptance. And I will deploy Hreidmar immediately." Loki said as he made to leave the room.

The moment the door closed behind him, Lisa showed a displeased expression on her face.

"What an unpleasant man."

"I agree. I suddenly feel like I need to take a shower." Miyako agreed, her face scrunched up like she had smelt something unpleasant.

"…It was like being gazed at by a hungry snake." Firill commented, a shudder running through her body.

"I don't blame you. I've been under his command for a year and I still can't stand being in the same room as him for more than a minute. Loki Jotunheim is the least trustworthy person I know." Yuu nodded, his own face contorted into an expression of distaste.

"If he's so untrustworthy, why would you ask him to protect Father and Mother?" Mitsuki asked confusedly.

"As long as I play along with him, he won't do anything. He's a complete and utter bastard, but he really does have humanity's interest at heart. The power of a Campione is required to fight Heretic Gods. If protecting our parents will guarantee that I will cooperate with Asgard, he will complete that mission to the best of his abilities. That's the kind of guy he is." Yuu shrugged.

Loki was dishonest about many, many things, but if there was one thing that he was sincere about, it was his duty to protect humanity.

Loki formed the squad Sleipnir and trained him to become Fafnir to kill rogue Ds before they harmed any humans.

Loki hid their existence from Asgard, because an officially sanctioned squad would be restricted by laws and regulations, and thus rendered unable to do what was necessary in dire situations.

He sent them to war torn countries in order to suppress uprisings, because the last thing the world needed while under threat from Dragons and Heretic Gods was infighting among humans when they should be united against common enemies.

Yes, Loki was someone who prioritized humanity as a whole above everything else, not hesitating to kill off the bad seeds to avoid contaminating the whole harvest.

Yuu did not know whether it was due to some sort of obligation, or if the Major truly loved humanity, but it was an unexpected chink in Loki's otherwise invulnerable armor that he could take advantage of.

They were simply making use of each other, and they both knew it.

"…What's wrong, Mitsuki?" Yuu asked upon seeing the dejected expression on his sister's face.

"…Nii-san…you won't be coming to Midgard, will you?" Mitsuki mumbled in a small voice.

Yuu closed his eyes.

He still had Dark Matter Generation, but above that, he was a Campione, one of the only seven alive in the present day, one of the few beings capable of opposing Heretic Gods.

Even if he did strong arm Asgard into assigning him to Midgard, it would be rather pointless, as it was unlikely that Yuu would be there most of the time.

As a Campione, he would be expected to deal with threats that normal humans simply could not handle.

This was not only limited to Heretic Gods.

There were their lesser counterparts, Divine Ancestors, Heretic Goddesses of the Earth who had lost the bulk of their powers in some way, and had been reduced to a lesser state of existence. Still vastly superior to a human, but just as inferior to a full Heretic God.

They were few in number, a rarer sight than even Heretic Gods, but depending on who you asked, they were more dangerous.

Most Heretic Gods were belligerent, appearing on the mortal plane simply to wreak havoc before vanishing.

Divine Ancestors were more cunning, and more focused, as they were intent on regaining their lost power and returning to their former, greater state.

And for that purpose, they were willing to do to any lengths.

Yuu had heard horror stories from NIFL field personnel about mass killings of humans for the purpose of a sacrificial ritual to restore their lost powers. All the ones he had heard about ended in failure, usually followed by the subsequent deaths of the culprits at the hands of one of the senior Campione, but that did not seem to deter the Divine Ancestors from trying anyway.

Then, there were Divine Beasts, spirits that served Heretic Gods, typically in the form of animals. They weren't quite as out of humanity's reach like Heretic Gods, Dragons and Divine Ancestors were, but humans had only ever managed to kill the weakest of them, by throwing some of the best mages the world had to offer, and still incur casualties and massive amounts of collateral damage in the process.

Not 2 years ago, Milan was besieged by a massive stallion, thought to be an aspect of the Greek God of the Seas, Poseidon, who had emerged not long afterwards in another part of Italy and subsequently vanished after wreaking havoc, before a joint effort between the Bronze-Black Cross and the Copper-Black Cross, two of the Seven Sisters, the seven most prestigious Mages' Associations independent from Asgard, chased it off, losing almost a dozen members in the process.

And last but not least were the 7 Dragons, 6 if one excluded Black Vritra, which was currently missing.

With that little display of power a few hours ago, despite not managing to kill Yggdrasil, Yuu had singlehandedly proven that the powers of Campione were enough, perhaps more than enough, to take on a Dragon, opponents that humanity had been struggling to faze for the past 2 decades, and emerge victorious.

There was no way Asgard would allow such a valuable asset to just languish at a fortified tropical island resort/school.

Yuu was prepared for it, but it appeared Mitsuki hadn't quite accepted it.

He patted his little sister's head in a consoling manner.

"Sorry. But, you heard Loki. Asgard is prepared to allow me to go to and from Midgard as long as I affiliate myself with them. Staying is impossible, but I'll come visit you." Yuu replied, recalling Loki's words.

Among the examples of the benefits, the permission to enter and leave Midgard as and when he pleased stood out from the rest, since it didn't seem to have an benefit to him on the surface.

Asgard must have decided on that when they learned that his little sister was a D and a Midgard student.

He honestly wondered whether Mitsuki was as safe at Midgard as he had initially assumed her to be.

Asgard as a whole wouldn't break their agreement for fear of his wrath, but like he said, it wouldn't stop a few idiots from trying to get leverage on him.

Midgardsormr was the technological-magical hybrid masterpiece that protected the tropical island from all human intruders. It was impossible for any human to infiltrate it.

Unless someone opened a path for them.

Mitsuki's safety in Midgard would depend on whether or not the other residents of the island could be trusted.

And Yuu wasn't feeling very trusting at the moment.

And the biggest concern among them was the one who held the most power in Midgard, Charlotte B. Lord.

Loki had an uncharacteristically strong dislike for her, and while that actually elevated his opinion of her, it wasn't enough for him to trust her with the safety of his little sister/fiancée.

Especially when he was almost damn sure that she wasn't human.

Like he had noticed earlier, she certainly seemed human on the surface, but there was something about her that was decidedly inhumane.

Perhaps Loki disliked her precisely because he knew that she wasn't a human.

In that case…why hadn't he made a move against her yet?

The Loki that Yuu knew would not have confronted something inhumane directly, but he would sure as hell do everything he could to make sure that humanity stayed on top.

Yet, the clearly inhuman Charlotte B. Lord held a powerful position, being directly in charge of all Ds on Midgard, invaluable assets to the world.

There were two possible explanations. Either she was in the pockets of Asgard's higher ups…or she had _them_ in _her_ pockets.

Neither really boded well.

Yuu had to ascertain whether or not he could trust Charlotte B. Lord.

But, was it okay to do it here?

Charlotte B. Lord, for all of her supposed maturity that did not fit her physical age, looked completely human.

If Yuu's instincts hadn't been heightened by his ascension, he doubted that he would have been able to tell.

Which meant that there was a good chance that the Midgard students had no idea what their principal really was.

The attendant, Mica Stewart…he had no idea. She had an incredible poker face, on par with Loki's, and he couldn't read her as long as she kept the façade up.

However, the same inhumane aura he could feel from Midgard's principal…he could feel it from Mica Stewart too.

It wasn't as strong as Charlotte B. Lord's, and it felt foreign in her body, like it didn't belong there, but it was there nonetheless.

It was like…Charlotte B. Lord had bestowed a portion of her inhumane nature to Mica Stewart, not enough to turn her into an inhuman being like her, but enough for it to have some sort of influence on her.

What it was, he didn't know.

It looked like he would have to talk to Midgard's principal in private.

*GROWL*

Yuu's hand, which had been patting Mitsuki's head, stopped when his stomach growled loudly enough to echo throughout the room.

Everyone stared at him, much like before, except their gazes seemed to be filled with incredulity.

It was then that Yuu remembered what it was he had been about to do before all the interruptions.

Talking to Charlotte B. Lord could wait until after he had gotten some food in his stomach.

* * *

"So, what is it you wanted to talk about, Mononobe Yuu?" The diminutive principal asked him.

When he and the Midgard students, who had worked up an appetite after the battle with Yggdrasil, departed for the cafeteria, he hung back and arranged to meet Charlotte in private afterwards.

After scarfing down a feast, though it felt more like a light snack, he snuck away from the Midgard group and went to meet her.

That was why he, Charlotte and Mica were in the same meeting room as before, with the 5 Ds missing.

"Earlier, I said that Mitsuki would be safe in Midgard, but…to be honest, I'm not too sure about that. So, I wanted to make sure that I could trust you with my little sister's life."

"Oh? And how can I prove myself?"

"Well, first of all, how about we start with 'what are you'?"

Both Charlotte and Mica froze, which was all the confirmation that Yuu needed to know that his instincts were right.

"…I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

Yuu twitched, feeling a small tinge of annoyance at her attempt to continue her subterfuge.

"Oh, I think you do. From the moment I saw you, I had the sneaking suspicion that you weren't human. And that reaction just now all but proved me right. So, I'll ask again. What are you?" Yuu pressed, a dangerous edge entering his voice, and his right hand flexing as though preparing to grasp something in it.

Charlotte seemed to get his message loud and clear.

If she attempted to continue to try and deceive him, he would respond with force.

A lot of force.

She kept silent for a while, a war raging in her eyes as she struggled to make a decision.

Then, she spoke.

"Mica, go make sure that no one eavesdrops." She ordered her attendant, who bowed.

"Yes, Charlotte-sama." The maid answered before leaving the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"Everything I'm about to tell you is only known to the highest authorities in Asgard and NIFL. Originally, you would need maximum level clearance to hear any of this, but since you're a Campione, I suppose it's fine. My name is Charlotte B. Lord, as you have heard. And as you say, I am not a human. My true identity is that of the eighth Dragon, Grey Vampire, the only Dragon who has sided with humanity."

The moment those words left her mouth, Yuu summoned Galatine.

The divine sword in his hand roared with white hot flames, causing the temperature of the room to shoot up.

Beads of sweat started to form on the self-proclaimed Dragon's brow, though Yuu couldn't tell if it was from nervousness or just from the heat.

"Could you put that away? I would rather not get a tan."

"No, I think I'll keep this out for a while. If you don't want to turn into a kebab, I suggest you keep talking." Yuu refused, hostility clear in his tone.

Charlotte sighed, but complied.

"A few centuries ago, a pair of identical twin brothers, both human, by the way, was born, each possessing a certain power. The older twin had the power to kill humanity, and the younger twin had the power to control humanity, with an ingrained instinct to use those powers to curb humanity in order to protect the world. However, the older twin brother recognized the dangers of his power and vowed never to use it, entrusting the task to his younger brother instead, lived out the average human lifespan and died as an ordinary human. His power, never used even once, dispersed after his death, and became known as Code Lost, the scrapped Authority, named by the younger brother. On the other hand, the younger brother awakened his power, naming it Code Acht, and in order to use it to its full potential, his body changed and became one that was not only immune to disease, but was also unaging and immortal. Since then, he lived in the shadows, secretly and subtly controlling humanity so that they didn't destroy the world. The reason the Cold War didn't end in a nuclear showdown was also because of his interference. His name was Leonardo B. Lord, my father." Charlotte narrated.

Yuu frowned.

A power capable of controlling humanity? That had an unbelievable amount of potential, and spelled doom for the human race.

In that case…why all the subtlety? If controlling the entire human race was possible, why not do it from the get go?

If his goal was to stop humanity from destroying the world, it would be easier if he just put all of humanity under his control rather than stopping each conflict, only for another to crop up somewhere else.

No, that wasn't it.

Rather than choosing not to do it…perhaps it couldn't be done?

Galatine also had its drawbacks, this he knew instinctively.

If he tried to use it at night, it would sap a portion of his body heat in accordance to how much power he used.

Using its full power was no joke, and would leave him completely open and unable to do anything for a few hours.

In the same vein, perhaps using that power to its full potential also had its demerits?

And then there were the older brother's power.

The ability to kill humanity.

That sounded eerily similar to Fafnir's power.

Was it just a coincidence?

…No, since Loki and Charlotte seemed to know each other, there was no way it was mere happenstance.

Charlotte said that the older brother's power _dispersed_ , not _disappeared_.

In other words, it was possible that it still existed in some form in the world, and Loki had somehow managed to find it and harness it.

And that power…resided within him and Hreidmar.

That was when Yuu realized something, and frowned.

Fafnir was not reacting.

That was natural right now, because the only other person in the room was, by her own admission, not a human, but just a minute ago, Mica had been in here, and she was undoubtedly human, despite possessing some of Charlotte's inhuman nature in some way.

Fafnir did not even stir.

It wasn't just then.

Before he became a Campione, simply seeing a human was enough to cause Fafnir to start waking up, though Yuu could suppress it and force it back into a dormant state quite easily.

But, when he woke up to see Loki's face after defeating Gawain and becoming a Campione, Fafnir did not react either, even though the Major was definitely human.

Then, when Mitsuki and the Midgard personnel entered the room, Fafnir did not react either, even though the prey he had been trained to kill had appeared in front of him.

It didn't react when he met Miyazawa Kenya, or when he entered the NIFL camp that had been set up in respond to Yggdrasil's appearance, or when he had been in a room surrounded by Asgard's higher-ups.

So many humans, and Fafnir did not react to a single one.

In fact, when he reached deep down, he could no longer sense the beast that had been cultivated inside of him by Loki.

There was something else in its place, something similar, but ultimately different from Fafnir.

What had happened?

It started after his battle with Gawain, so had something happened that did something to Fafnir?

He couldn't quite recall what had happened, since he had basically been running on fumes the whole time.

Whenever he tried to recall what happened, he caught images of a flaming forest, a smiling Gawain, a suddenly not smiling Gawain, him running Gawain through with a flaming Galatine, and vague flashes of nonsensical kaleidoscopic colors, which made no sense.

But, the most memorable of them was the sudden surge of power he got, allowing him to fight and even overpower Gawain, as well as the influx of information about the Heretic God, which he should not have known.

It felt like Fafnir, but at the same time, it didn't. After all, Fafnir would only react to humans.

What was that? Did it have something to do with why he had seemed to have lost Fafnir's power?

Yuu reached out to the sleeping entity inside of him, the Fafnir that had mutated into something else.

However, he could not get it to stir.

"Then, 33 years ago…"

Yuu shook himself out of his thoughts and focused on Charlotte's words.

She didn't appear to have realized that he had stopped paying attention to her for a while.

"…he, who had always kept his distance from humanity, decided to get married to a human woman, who bore him a human daughter, me. 10 years after that, Black Vritra appeared. The moment he saw that massive black Dragon, my father instinctively knew that they were 'the same type of being', a creature sent by a higher existence, bestowed with an incredible power in order to accomplish some kind of mission. Thus, he named himself the Grey Dragon, Grey Vampire. A name that has caused no end of misfortune for me, who eventually inherited his power." Charlotte said with a wry smile.

…Creatures sent by a higher existence?

A higher existence than Dragons?

"Well, he said the same thing about Heretic Gods and Campione, though they were intrinsically different from Dragons."

That meant that…Dragons, Heretic Gods and Campione all came from the same higher being?

What kind of ridiculous existence could create those three absurd species?

"Anyway, recognizing the threat that Dragons, Heretic Gods and Campione posed to the stability of the world, he went around the world, seeking out the highest authorities, mundane and magical, to form a global response organization that could mobilize to respond to catastrophes instigated by those beings. That was what is now known as Asgard. And along the way, he picked up multiple subordinates and collaborators among the world's top class, bestowing them with a limited form of immortality by having them take in some of his blood, which served as the medium for his power to dominate humanity. However, NIFL sent out a team of soldiers to kill him. Why? Because they found out the truth about his power."

"The truth?"

"What I'm about to tell you about the Grey Vampire's power is something that not even Asgard knows. In fact, aside from Mica and I, only the top brass of NIFL knows. The power of the Grey Vampire, Dominance…is not something that can be controlled so easily."

Yuu's focus sharpened.

So, his line of thinking was right after all. There was a demerit to the Grey Vampire's power.

"Controlling a person completely requires an incredible amount of mental concentration, and the more people I try to control, the more difficult it becomes to adjust. If I wanted to control humanity's top brass and stop them from destroying the world, I would have to drastically alter their personalities. However, doing that will definitely draw attention from those who know them well enough. To prevent them from exposing me, I would have to control them and alter their personalities as well, requiring even more concentration. This cycle will keep repeating itself, until I hit the limit of how many humans I can consciously control. Once I pass that limit, I will lose control over my power. My Authority will go berserk and start taking control of humans without my input, and the entire human race would end up becoming nothing more than mindless extensions of my own body, unable to do anything for all of eternity because I cannot issue any commands to them in that state. That, in a way, is also the end of humanity. That is why both my father and I have kept our interference to a minimum, only stepping in in times of emergencies."

That was quite the limitation indeed.

Galatine's drawbacks were drastic, but it could be lessened the more he practiced with it.

Yuu likened Divine Authorities to a horse, with the possessor being a novice rider. Some horses had gentler dispositions, allowing its rider to quickly master riding them. In the same way, some Authorities were easier for their owners to master.

Other horses had wilder dispositions, and did their best to buck their riders off, never settling down until the riders had managed to tame them. Likewise, some Authorities were difficult to use from the get go, which necessitated training in order to maximize their potential.

Right now, Yuu imagined that Galatine was like a half-trained wild horse, allowing itself to be ridden, but not making it easy for the rider.

Once he had managed to master Galatine, what would he be able to do with it?

However, on the other hand, the Grey Vampire's Authority was the opposite. It was like an untamable wild horse that bucked harder the more you tried to ride it.

An Authority that became more difficult to control the more it was used. Why on earth would such an inconvenient power exist?

"Anyway, having learned of the true nature of Dominance, NIFL sent out a team of soldiers to kill my immortal father, as well as my mother and his subordinates that had all obtained limited immortality through taking in his blood. The end result was…both sides completely slaughtered each other. The NIFL team was wiped out, but my father, my mother and all but one of his subordinates had been killed in turn."

…Huh?

Didn't Charlotte just say that her father was immortal? In that case, how did he die?

"Well, my mother's and my father's subordinates' deaths can be explained. Their immortality was limited since they only possessed a small portion of the Vampire's Authority. Most fatal wounds can be ignored, but if the brain is destroyed, there's no saving them. The only one that made no sense was…my father. He truly was immortal. I, who possesses the same Authority, understands that better than anyone else. Even if my brain were destroyed, even if my body was ripped to microscopic pieces, I could just put myself back together with no conscious effort. But even with that degree of immortality, my father still died." Charlotte said with a pained expression.

It can't be easy recalling the deaths of her loved ones.

"At the time, I was 13, unable to understand what was going on. Mica, the only survivor among my father's subordinates, took care of me and raised me in place of my parents. And one day, I injured myself, and witnessed my wound instantly closing. That was when I realized that I had inherited my father's Authority. I honestly don't love this world as much as he did, but to prevent all of his effort from going to waste, I decided to take his place and help to set up Asgard while forming contracts with as many influential parties as I could. That was when I learned the identity of my father's killer. The leader of the NIFL team sent, Farbauti Jotunheim."

Yuu's eyes widened at the very familiar last name.

"I see you've made the connection. Your now former commanding officer, Loki Jotunheim, is the son of my father's killer, and thus, my blood relation. Not only that, I also found out that Farbauti Jotunheim was descended from my father's older brother, possessing a fragment of Code Lost. I assume that was what he used to kill my father, though the exact mechanics behind it are unknown to me."

Yuu's eyes narrowed.

With that piece of information, it was all but guaranteed that Fafnir was in fact a fragment of Code Lost.

"For killing my father, Farbauti Jotunheim was exalted by NIFL, the Hero who brought an end of the Grey Vampire's 'tyranny'. I admit, I was extremely tempted to massacre all of them when I heard that, but I managed to restrain myself. The looks on their faces when I emerged as the second Grey Vampire was almost enough to make up for it though." Charlotte continued, an expression of spiteful glee appearing on her face.

"I heard that he had conceived a son before he died, but I never imagined that he would look so much like my father…a quirk of fate, I suppose. In any case, I took my father's place in helping to establish Asgard, and eventually took up the position of Midgard's chief administrator after helping it achieve autonomy from NIFL."

"Why? Why put yourself out in the open instead of operating in the shadows like your father did? Aren't you practically inviting NIFL to kill you?" Yuu asked.

"Who knows? I suppose I empathized with Ds. Like me, they had been bestowed with a power great enough to distort their lives. That's why I chose to out myself as the second Grey Vampire in order to take the reins of Midgard away from NIFL, who treated Ds as monsters. But, in the end, many people took advantage of my desire to protect Midgard."

"Meaning?"

"As you know, the motion to make Midgard autonomous from NIFL was decided by a vote from leaders all over the world in addition to Asgard's higher ups. However, despite what was made known to the public, it wasn't a unanimous decision. The motion was just a handful of votes away from being beaten. And that decision can be rescinded at any moment if enough of those who voted in favor of the motion change their mind and move to return control of Midgard back to NIFL. In order to keep them happy and prevent them from changing their minds, I had to accept a large number of their demands."

Yuu gained a look of disgust, his mind immediately jumping to a certain conclusion.

He had seen human depravity at its worst on the battlefield, so this wasn't anything new, but to force Charlotte, who possessed the physical body of a preteen, to do _that_ …

Charlotte seemed to guess what was on his mind, and directed an utterly flat look at him.

"Nothing like _that_. If anyone asked _that_ of me, I would kill them on the spot. In the first place, I don't have any interest in men. When I said demands, I meant it in the political sense. Being a field operative, you also know, right? Compared to the age before Dragons and Heretic Gods were made known to the world, more and more countries are becoming politically unstable. Rebellions and uprisings are almost daily occurrences in the worst cases. Some countries' governments are able to deal with it on their own, but there are some that are losing out to the opposing parties, whether in terms of military power or political favor. That's why, in return for their vote to keep Midgard autonomous, they have me use my Authority to keep them in power." Charlotte said with a self-deprecating expression.

Yuu frowned heavily.

He had indeed seen many rebellions over the course of his time in NIFL. Hell, he had even stopped a number of them.

However, the ones Sleipnir were sent to stop were terrorist organizations aiming to overthrow governments and establish their own rule, judged to be detrimental to the world as a whole.

There were definitely other rebellions where the rebels were simply trying to overthrow a corrupt government in order to improve the lives of their countrymen.

If it wasn't against international laws, NIFL would probably have sent teams out to help in these revolts.

In fact, he always found it weird that Loki never sent Sleipnir in, since the unit technically did not exist and could therefore operate off the books.

He had assumed it was because the rebellions always seemed to die down within a day or so, and Loki just found it pointless to send them.

It was pointless, but not for the reason he had thought.

The real reason had just been made known to him.

"As long as I exist, the ones whose lives can only be saved through revolution will surely be lost. This is the Dragon Disaster that the Grey Vampire invites unto humanity. That's why, despite how much I hate NIFL, I do not believe they are wrong in wanting to kill me. Doing so would definitely save a decent portion of humanity in the process. The only reason they have yet to make a move on me is because they judged that my power is necessary as long as Dragons and Heretic Gods threaten humanity. We can't afford a war between humans to interfere in our efforts against greater foes. That's the whole reason Midgard was originally founded in the first place: as a holding facility for Ds, unprecedented and invaluable assets to today's economy, to prevent wars from breaking out over them."

"So, now that you know the truth, what will you do, Mononobe Yuu? Will you cut me down here and now? Or will you let me live?" Charlotte asked, looking curious about his decision, while also seeming resigned.

Perhaps she had already expected to not be able to die an easy death once she had taken her father's place.

Yuu considered killing her.

Her power was a threat to humanity, whether willingly or not.

If those corrupt leaders who were blackmailing her knew just how dangerous her power really was, they would have never approached her in the first place.

After all, with all the rebels she had to subjugate, Yuu wouldn't be surprised if she was near the limit of the number of humans she was able to consciously exert her Dominance on. Once she was past that limit, humanity was doomed.

Killing her…would frankly save him a huge headache later on if the worst case scenario occurred.

However…was killing her the best option?

Midgard was able to obtain its autonomy solely because of her, and he was able to tell that her desire to protect the Ds was sincere.

If she was gone, Midgard would surely fall back under NIFL's jurisdiction.

Which meant that the inhumane treatment of Ds would start again.

Yuu personally felt that Ds needed to be controlled, because of the power they wielded, which if used carelessly, would collapse human society just as easily as Dragon and Heretic God attacks would.

However, that didn't mean that he thought that they should be treated as monsters.

Perhaps it was just because Mitsuki was also a D that he was biased, but he definitely did not want NIFL to regain control of Midgard.

But, that would mean leaving Charlotte alive, which meant that humanity would be at constant risk of being taken over by Dominance.

Humanity as a whole against the Ds, making up a miniscule portion of the population. He had to choose one over the other.

The choice was obvious.

 _His little sister meant more to him than the entire human race._

Yuu willed Galatine to vanish, and the sword shimmered, disappearing from the physical plane, causing the temperature of the room to rapidly drop, though it would take some time for it to return to normal temperature.

"I will not kill you. As long as you are protecting Midgard, our interests are aligned. And, I do not necessarily have to kill you in order to protect humanity."

"What?"

There was a third option, Yuu realized.

"I will make this world a peaceful one, so that there will be no need for you to use that power of yours."

Charlotte fixed him with a look of pure incredulity.

"Ridiculous. If it was possible for humanity to achieve peace, surely it would have been done long ago. What you are proposing is absolutely impossible." Charlotte retorted.

She was not wrong. For as long as recorded history went back, humans always waged war against each other for a huge variety of reasons.

Greed, power, xenophobia. The reason didn't really matter. The bottom line was, humans loved to wage war against each other.

Despite claiming to be an 'evolved, civilized species', humans were the species that waged war among themselves the most.

War was the natural state of humanity.

And peace was not possible to achieve, because there would always be parties who were looking for personal gain.

But…what did the word 'impossible' even mean to him?

"Of course it's possible. Why? It's simple. Because I'm a Campione." Yuu said, radiating confidence with each word.

And in that moment, Charlotte actually believed that if it was him, he might actually be able to do it.

* * *

Yuu, dressed in NIFL's physical training attire, rode the elevator down to the testing chamber that he had been using this morning to test his new Dark Matter Generation capacity.

It was currently past midnight, and the building was almost completely empty, the staff having either gone back to their rooms on the upper floors or holed themselves in their offices to work overnight.

That was why he was confident no one had seen him leave his room.

Not much had happened after his talk with Charlotte. He was called back to the conference room from before to talk to Asgard's higher ups again, mostly just to finalize the details of his affiliation with the global organization before a press conference was called to make a worldwide announcement.

Come tomorrow, the entire world would know that the newest Campione had allied himself with Asgard.

As he expected, they were all sucking up to him as much as they could without actually looking like they were. While he had chosen to affiliate himself with them, he could change his mind at any time, and thus, they were trying to shower him with so many gifts and benefits that he wouldn't want to leave.

Not that he could as long as his parents were at risk, but it looked like Loki had not told them about that little detail.

Well, there was no way that Loki would let anyone else know of a weakness he had managed to take advantage of.

Once that was over, the rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

The Midgard group would only be returning to the tropical island after the press conference, so they were staying overnight in the standard guest rooms on the 18th floor.

Yuu was going with them, as had been decided after Charlotte negotiated with Asgard's top brass.

Every person on the island, student and faculty, was female, and if Yuu weren't a Campione, or if he hadn't possessed the ability to generate Dark Matter, he wouldn't have been allowed anywhere near the all-female school/fortress.

He had no intentions of staying if he could help it, of course. He may be a Campione and all, and mentally mature for his age, but being the only guy on an island of girls would be all kinds of awkward, and probably a lot more trouble than it was worth.

For example, was he supposed to stay in the same dormitory as the 80-odd female students? He would be incredibly self-conscious the entire time.

And exactly how was he supposed to go to the bathroom during school hours if most of them were for girls, with the only known male toilet located in the clock tower that served as the administrative building of Midgard, which was quite a distance from the classrooms?

And if he tried to use the girls' toilets…well, that was a disaster waiting to happen.

At best, he would be stuck in a cubicle while waiting for any other students in the room to leave, and at worst…well, in a school full of girls who could generate lethal substances with a thought, a blow to his reputation might be the least of his worries, even if he was basically invulnerable to all but Divine Authorities.

In contrast to the Midgard group, Yuu had been given the VIP suite that took up almost the entirety of the 16th floor, further away from and lined with enough insulation to block out noise from the helipad on the roof, but still high enough to have a good view of the city and Mount Fuji in the distance, not to mention an advanced enough security system to rival Fort Knox in the event of an emergency.

Though what such a system could possibly do for him, Yuu did not know. Nothing short of a Heretic God or a Dragon would be enough to threaten him, and no matter how advanced the security system was, it was worthless in the face of that kind of overwhelming power.

He honestly would have been fine with one of the regular rooms. The suite was so needlessly big and luxurious that he had no idea what to do with it.

The space was great when he was entertaining the Midgard group as his guests, but once they had gone back to their rooms to sleep, it was pretty much useless to him.

The Jacuzzi in the bathroom was nice and all, but what the hell did they expect a 14-year-old to do with a private bar? Or the larger-than-king-size bed that could probably fit 10 of him comfortably? Or the billiards table that he could now only use by himself?

And for all the space it took up, it wasn't suitable for his training, since he would more than likely blow the floor up, and most of the building with it.

He wasn't exactly sure that the training room would fare any better against the power of a Divine Authority as powerful as Galatine, but at least he wouldn't destroy the building.

Unless of course, he accidently destroyed the foundations of the entire structure…

…Maybe this wasn't the best idea in the world.

But, it was true that he needed to get a better grasp on his capabilities as a Campione. Even if practicing with his Authorities wasn't feasible, he should get some physical training done.

A high-pitched ding told him that he had reached his destination.

The doors slid open, and Yuu took stepped out of the elevator…into the brightly lit testing chamber?

That was weird. He had no idea what the protocol in Asgard facilities was supposed to be like, but he was pretty sure that leaving the power on after hours when no one was supposed to be using it was against regulations, not to mention bad for the electricity bill.

Was someone else here?

His first thoughts went to Miyazawa Kenya, who had shown inordinate interest in not just his abilities as a Campione, but also his Dark Matter Generation, and Marduk, the weapon he had used to defeat Hekatonkheir.

Plus, he was the director of the facilities.

Speaking of the massive ancient weapon, the purposely flawed version he had created with his new Dark Matter Generation capacity was gone.

He supposed with such a weapon suddenly dropping into their hands, Asgard wouldn't just leave it lying around.

He wouldn't be surprised if they were already preparing to perform tests with it.

They weren't going to get much out of it. Yuu's friend in the R&D department of NIFL had said that it was next to impossible for humanity's current level of technology to perfectly replicate the ancient technology of the lost civilization that created Marduk and the other lost weapons.

That was why even the other members of Sleipnir were using inferior, mass-produced versions of the lost weapons Yuu had obtained from Marduk's blueprints.

Plus, the removal of the cooling unit ensured that it could only be fired once before the barrel melted and became a useless lump of slag.

If it wasn't being tested here, he couldn't imagine that Miyazawa Kenya would be here. Someone as obsessed with his research as he was wouldn't part from his subject until he had gotten everything he could out of it.

So, if not the head researcher, who could be using the facility?

Yuu looked toward the far end of the chamber, and promptly caught sight of a person.

A girl, about his age, with brown hair tied into a ponytail with a green ribbon, with eyes of a darker shade of green, possessing facial features that weren't quite Asian, but more Middle Eastern, dressed in a tracksuit.

She was looking at him with a wide-eyed expression, much like a deer caught in headlights.

Yuu frowned. She was familiar somehow.

He was certain he had not seen her anywhere before, but he was just as sure that they had interacted in some way.

That was when it clicked.

Her presence was identical to the person who had been watching him this afternoon when he had stepped out of the conference room.

It was unexpected, but it looked like he found his spy.

If she was in one of Asgard's secure facilities in such a casual outfit…was she a relative of an employee who had been given or managed to sneak a keycard away?

If that was the case…had she been spying on him for someone else, or was it just curiosity on her part?

Well, only one way to find out.

He plastered a smile on his face as he approached her, trying not to come off as confrontational, and hoping it didn't look fake, or make him look like a creep either.

When her expression became guarded, he wasn't too sure whether it was because he was failing in that regard, or if it was just the general fear that normal humans seem to feel towards the likes of Dragons, Heretic Gods and Campione.

He stopped once he was close enough for his voice to be heard without it needing to be raised.

"Hello there, didn't expect to meet someone down here. I'm Mononobe Yuu. Nice to meet you."

She blinked, looking a bit out of her depth at the casual way he was talking to her.

Then, she grinned cheerfully, which made him think of Miyako.

"Oh, I know who you are. I don't think there's anyone on Earth who hadn't heard of you by now. I'm Ariella Lu. Technically, I'm not supposed to be down here, but I figured it would be fine as long as I didn't get caught. So, don't tell anyone, please? We are kinda in the same boat here." The girl, Ariella, asked, putting her hands together in a beseeching gesture.

"Yeah, the difference is, I'm a Campione. That's basically a free pass to do whatever I want." Yuu said, looking and feeling quite amused.

"Wow, abuse of authority right off the bat? That doesn't bode well for us." Ariella commented, her grin widening as she ribbed him.

"If anyone has any complaints, they're free to take it up with me. What are you doing down here anyway?"

"Um…super secret training?" she replied lamely.

He couldn't help it. He laughed.

"Hahahaha! Well, that's a coincidence! I'm here for pretty much the same reason!"

Her expression immediately transitioned into one of great interest.

"Now that sounds interesting! So, how about you keep quiet about me being down here, and I do the same about your secret training?" Ariella proposed with an impish smile, blatantly stating her intentions to keep watching him and trying to blackmail him.

"Oh ho, now that's brave of you, trying to coerce me." Yuu replied, feeling twinges of both irritation and amusement in equal measure.

Well, he supposed it was fine. He had changed his plans and was just going to do physical training to get a feel for his new and improved body anyway.

"I don't mind you watching, but…how about you tell the person hiding in the observation room to come out first?" Yuu asked, his eyes flitting to the elevated room above them.

It was dark, but he had been seeing flickers of movement out of the corner of his peripheral vision, enough for him to be sure that it wasn't just some trick of the eye.

Someone was in there.

And judging by how Ariella's expression had frozen, she knew who it was.

She stayed like that for a few moments before she sighed and called out loudly.

"Well, if he knows you're there, there's no point in hiding! Come down here, Ren!"

There was silence, and then Yuu saw more movement in the darkness of the observation room.

The elevator groaned as it operated, and the doors slid open with a ding, revealing a little girl, probably 10 or 11 years of age, with brown eyes, long red hair, some of it tied back with a duck-shaped scrunchy, dressed in a white dress…and a child-sized lab coat?

Yuu blinked at the odd sight.

The girl dashed towards Ariella, and hid behind the older girl, peeking out at him timidly, reminding him somewhat of a small animal.

He quickly suppressed the urge to pat her head.

"Hey, don't hide behind me. Say hi."

"…Mm. Miyazawa Ren. Nice to meet you." The girl complied in a soft tone and just a few words before ducking her head behind Ariella again.

"Don't be offended, she's like this with everyone except me." Ariella added with a wry smile.

Yuu nodded wordlessly, though he wondered if he was part of the problem.

Was he that scary?

He imagined yes, someone capable of killing Gods and Dragons would be pretty terrifying to a normal human.

And her last name…

"I thought Director Miyazawa was married. Just, you know, to his job. Didn't know he had an actual family." Yuu commented, thinking about the workaholic researcher.

Ariella's smile turned cold at the same time that Ren looked down sadly.

"Well, you're not wrong about the job part. That man can't go one waking hour without conducting research or experimentation on something. He's Ren's biological father, and my adoptive father, but there isn't even a modicum of any fatherly qualities in him. In the first place, the only reason he adopted me was because of this." Ariella said in an arctic cold tone, holding up a hand.

Yuu blinked at the sight of the perfect sphere of black mass that appeared above her palm.

Dark matter.

"You're a D?" Yuu asked in surprise.

What Miyazawa Kenya had committed was, without a doubt, a crime in the eyes of the very organization he worked for, if he had known that Ariella was a D prior to adopting her.

The intentional concealment of a D was a very serious crime, outlawed soon after Asgard's founding, and if convicted, losing his job would be the least of the director's worries.

But…something was wrong.

"If you hate him that much, why not just report him to the authorities for concealing your status as a D? Not only will he be arrested and tried, you'll be sent to Midgard, far away from him." Yuu questioned.

"If the circumstances were different, I would have done so after I realized what he was really like. But, if I did that, where would that leave Ren? Her mother passed away when she was young, she doesn't have any immediate relatives, and as far as we know, she isn't a D, or just hasn't awakened as one yet. If that guy goes to prison and I go to Midgard, she'll be all alone. As her older sister, I can't let that happen." Ariella said with a strong voice as she gently patted Ren's head, the red-haired girl leaning in towards the touch.

Yuu found himself smiling at the sight.

Protecting her little sister even if it meant having to put up with unpleasant circumstances.

That was a sentiment he could sympathize with.

"Alright, I'll keep quiet about you being down here and you being a D, if you keep quiet about what I'm doing down here. You can even stay and watch, if you want. I'm not really doing anything grand anyway." Yuu shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, in that case, don't mind if we do!" Ariella smiled widely, looking glad at the change in subject.

Ren came out from behind Ariella, interest gleaming in her eyes as she focused her attention on Yuu.

Yuu held a hand out and willed Galatine into the physical plane.

The silver divine sword seamlessly appeared in his hand, like it always did when he called it forth.

However, there was a distinct difference compared to the other times. It wasn't accompanied by a sudden and drastic rise of the surrounding temperature.

Galatine was no longer on fire, simply appearing as nothing more than an aesthetically pleasing Western sword that looked almost too big for him to be wielding, even it felt light as a feather to him.

A good portion of the power, of the Authority that was embodied within the blade had been suppressed, as though trapped somewhere deep inside him and held there by a lock.

And he had the key, right there, in the form of his body heat, with the amount of power he could release dependent on the proportion of his body heat that he sacrificed to turn into the key.

But right now, he wasn't interested in Galatine's explosive power. What he wanted was simply Galatine, as a sword.

His head was flooded with information. How high he should swing Galatine as his first move, and how to cover any openings he showed during that movement. How he should follow up by stepping in and swinging the sword back down if the first strike failed to kill or incapacitate his opponent. How to deflect an incoming attack, whether it was another sword, an axe, an arrow, or a spell.

Gawain's perfect swordsmanship was being imparted to him, and Yuu knew that he could use it just as effectively as the Knight of the Round Table.

"You two might want to get back." Yuu advised the two spectators, who obediently moved back to the far wall.

He didn't want to accidently hurt them, or worse.

Once he had confirmed that they were at a safe distance, Yuu took a deep breath…and started moving.

He placed his right foot forward while simultaneously turning his waist to the left so that his right shoulder was facing forward, imagining a metal pauldron encasing the joint that would take the brunt of frontal attacks, and raising Galatine with both hands such that the sword was at the left of his head.

As he swung the divine sword down diagonally from upper left to lower right, his body turned back with the movement, adding more weight to the blow.

Without missing a beat, with speed that even veteran athletes and master martial artists could only dream of, his left foot stepped forward while he shifted Galatine to immediately swing back upwards through the same arc it had just travelled.

One opponent, multiple opponents, coming from the front, surrounding him, wielding swords, wielding bows, wielding spears, casting spells, felled in a single blow, dodged the first blow. Yuu imagined dozens of scenarios in his mind, and moved his body accordingly to deal with each one according to Gawain's fighting style.

He could not see himself at the moment, but to a spectating third party, such as Ariella and Ren, it seemed like a perfect lightning fast dance with a blade, elegant yet efficient, not a single wasteful movement in sight, transfixing them, not allowing them to look away even if their brains weren't fast enough to catch each motion in its entirety.

The level of perfection Yuu had witnessed in his fight with Gawain was now reflected in his own movements, far beyond the capabilities of mere humans.

Several minutes passed in silence, with only the exception of the soft sound of Galatine slicing through the air over and over again, amplified by the walls of the almost completely closed off metal room.

Finally, Yuu swung Galatine down one last time, the tip of the blade just stopping above the surface of the floor, having cut down the last of his imagined opponents.

Once they had realized he had stopped, Ariella and Ren immediately started to clap, their eyes wide in amazement, though Yuu wasn't really paying attention to them.

He could feel a bit of sweat starting to roll down his face, and he was only slightly winded.

This was good. His stamina had definitely increased, by a lot, in fact. At least thrice his previous capacity.

In fact, all of his physical capabilities had increased. He couldn't fully estimate by how much without fully testing them, but it was enough that it was a far cry from his previous state.

Forget his Authorities, with his new physical capabilities, he could rip Hreidmar limb from limb if he wanted to, Fafnir or not.

Add that to his invincibility during the day, and he was basically an unstoppable one man army.

If this was the standard for Campione, he could definitely understand why they were as feared as Dragons and Heretic Gods.

And he was now also comfortable with Gawain's fighting style.

Now, the question was, what about the fighting style he had been employing for the past year?

Even if he could now adopt a forward fighting style, did he want to?

If he were to ask himself, he honestly preferred the covert fighting style of an assassin.

Even if he hadn't been using that fighting style for a year, he would still prefer it over that of a knight.

Why put yourself in the enemy's line of fire if you could just slit their throat without them noticing you?

Why risk a bullet through the eyes if you could stick a blade in their hearts from behind?

As much as he admired Gawain's fighting style, being much more polished and probably better than his own, he just didn't really think it was for him.

Well, if the situation called for it, he would definitely use it without hesitation, but he just preferred the stealthy approach as opposed to the forward approach.

In the end, the result was the same. His opponent's cooling corpse on the ground.

Then, another thought occurred to him.

He was still thinking like a human.

As he was, human opponents, he could take care of just as easily as he could squish a bug under his shoe. There was no need for him to hide in the shadows and wait for their most vulnerable moment.

To a Campione, they were always vulnerable.

They didn't exactly have the means to stop a miniature sun from falling on them.

But, what about Heretic Gods and Dragons? He was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to assassinate them.

Dragons were too damn big for even Galatine to be much more than a very, very sharp toothpick, and Heretic Gods…well, he didn't know much about them, but from his encounter with Gawain, he just didn't think they would go down that easily.

In that case, did that mean that his old fighting style was now obsolete?

Only one way to find out.

Yuu reversed Galatine in his grip, holding it backwards, much like how he would hold a combat knife.

He then immediately thought about how silly he looked, because even though Galatine didn't weigh much to him, it still looked almost too big for him to even hold, much less like a knife.

He cast those frivolous thoughts away and started visualizing an assassination scenario, taking care to account for the change in the length of the blade he was using.

It was a lot more difficult than he thought. Galatine was not quite as silent as a knife when moving through the air, which meant that there was a possibility that his target would hear the blade coming and turn around, or in the case of a smarter individual, duck.

That would be a problem. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to defeat Heretic Gods in one blow, but Galatine would still manage to severely injure them and make the rest of the fight easier for him.

He wondered if it was possible for him to swing his arm first and only bring Galatine out mid swing, but if the Heretic God somehow noticed him beforehand, he definitely did not want to be unarmed when it started throwing blasts of cosmic power at him.

He sighed. This was impossible. There was no way to adapt most of his old fighting style to his new skillset.

His old fighting style was one that was made to fight humans, utilizing human made weapons such as knives and guns.

He didn't need them for puny mortals anymore, Dragons were too fucking tough for anything less than Galatine's flaming ball of death, and Heretic Gods were even more so.

It was settled then. His old fighting style was largely obsolete now.

Looks like he would have to get used to fighting up close and personal.

Now, the only thing left was…

Yuu fell into a stance, arms at the ready.

Until he got some kind of divine weapon in the form of a knife or a firearm, the latter being extremely unlikely, his fighting style involving the two types of weapons were useless.

However, the same could not be said for his hand to hand combat. With his increased parameters, he could still take on Heretic Gods with his body.

The Second Campione, Luo Cuilian, the Ruler of the Martial Realm, had proven that for the past two or three hundred years, known for almost never using anything other than her martial arts and augmenting Authorities to kill Heretic Gods.

He probably couldn't do the same as he was now, having much less experience, skill and Authorities than the Chinese Campione did, but hand to hand combat would still prove useful to retain.

"Hey, if you're going to be practicing hand to hand, want me to be your sparring partner? I'm pretty confident in my skills." Ariella suggested, looking almost eager as she cracked her knuckles.

Yuu's eyebrow rose in inquiry.

"You sure? I'm not sure how much stronger I've become, so I might hurt you."

"Eh, what doesn't kill me only makes me stronger and all that." Ariella shrugged as she moved to stand opposite him.

"Mm. Ariella, good luck." Ren cheered for her adopted sister from the sidelines.

"Alright then, don't say I didn't warn you." Yuu replied.

He made a mental note to hold back.

He didn't want to actually kill her.

Ariella remained in a relaxed position…before she abruptly pushed off the ground and moved towards him with speed that Yuu would never expect to come from a girl his age.

She was fairly slow to his eyes right now, but back when he was still human, her speed would be on par with his, if not slightly higher.

She grinded to a halt right in front of him, planting her feet firmly on her ground before throwing a fist with her full body weight behind it at his torso.

Yuu raised a hand and slipped underneath her arm before driving it upwards to redirect her attack away from him.

However, she immediately swung her other fist in a wide arc at his temple, forcing him to lift his other arm to take the blow.

That was dangerous. She was better than he could have imagined.

Judging by her movements, she had extensive training in martial arts.

His body could now take on attacks like these without flinching, but normal humans would have been severely injured by just that one punch, especially since she had instantly and accurately been aiming for his solar plexus and temple.

It definitely wasn't something that she could have developed unless she had not only an incredible amount of talent, but also spent a great deal of time honing her skills while learning from a highly competent instructor.

Yuu felt his lips curl into an aggressive smile.

Maybe this wouldn't be as one-sided as he thought.

He quickly grabbed the arm he had blocked, as well as the front of Ariella's tracksuit, using the two points as the leverage to judo throw her over his shoulder, noting that he was easily lifting her without much effort.

Perhaps he should have expected it from someone of her skill level, but she bent her knees so that her feet landed on the floor, stopping the rest of her body from doing the same.

Before he could react, she kicked her off the floor, lifting her lower body upwards and slamming her shoe right into his nose before he could react, causing him to grunt and let go of her, allowing her to back away.

There wasn't any sickening, telltale cracking, or any pain from his nose breaking.

He hadn't let go of her because of pain, only because he had instinctually reacted when he felt the impact.

Yuu instantly closed the distance between them.

The battle wouldn't come to an end if he didn't go on the offensive.

As Ariella seemed to begin to process that he had moved from his previous position to right in front of her, Yuu thrust his right fist at her chin, intending to knock her out cold.

Amazingly, she somehow managed to move out of the way.

Not completely, he felt the tip of his middle finger bump against the ridge of her chin, but she backed away before he could transmit the full impact.

Still, her speed had to be nearing superhuman if she was still able to move away in time.

Or was it just her survival instinct?

Either way, he could not let the chance slip.

He had not managed to completely connect, but judging by the way she was staggering backwards, the force that had gotten through had been enough to rattle her brain a little, enough that she was disoriented.

And that meant she was wide open.

He punched at her chin again, this time aiming to completely knock her unconscious, once again taking care not to put too much force into it.

He just wanted to rattle her skull, not shatter it into a thousand tiny pieces.

And just as his knuckle was about to make contact and end the fight, a sudden burst of pitch black murderous intent and a flash of silver in the corner of his eye had him drawing back immediately, in time to avoid a knife from stabbing him in the upper arm.

Ariella had pulled a combat knife out of nowhere, probably created it out of dark matter considering that she was a D, and was releasing a very dangerous aura without much change in her expression.

"Oi oi, weren't we going to keep this strictly hand to hand?" Yuu asked casually.

"Heh, sorry. I got so caught up that I ended up making a knife without even thinking about it. You really are just too damn strong." Ariella said with a slight slur, having yet to completely recover.

"No need to be so modest. You're exceptional too. As strong as I was back when I was a human." Yuu remarked.

And he was not kidding. Ariella reminded him eerily of himself.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration even if he said that she was superior to the other members of Sleipnir, who were all exceptional in their own way.

And the expert way she was brandishing her knife…

That settled it. Her martial arts, it was possible for her to have obtained that level of skill with talent, extensive training, and an incredible instructor, but that knife-handling?

There was no way she wasn't military-trained.

And the way she was holding the knife…it was the exact same combat knife style that standard NIFL personnel were taught.

Considering her adoptive father was the director of Asgard's main laboratory, it wasn't out of the question that he could get a NIFL soldier to teach Ariella.

However, from what he had gleamed from his personal observations of Miyazawa Kenya and Ariella's words, he wasn't the type of person who would do anything that didn't benefit him in some way.

And Yuu really didn't see any way that he would benefit from having Ariella develop combat skills.

In fact, it was quite the opposite. If he had really only adopted Ariella in order to experiment on a D, giving her means to resist him would be counterproductive.

In that case, did that mean Ariella had been in contact with NIFL even before being adopted by Director Miyazawa?

Speaking objectively, considering her Middle Eastern features and the fact that a noticeable portion of the Middle East was embroiled in internal conflict, it was possible that she was a child soldier.

Definitely not from terrorist organizations like the Taliban, or Dragon and Heretic God-worshipping cults. NIFL would sooner eradicate them than work with them, but there were other non-sanctioned military organizations who recruited children to bolster their numbers, organizations with similar ideals as NIFL's.

Such as Dragon-dissenting cults and Heretic God-dissenting cults. Many had popped up in the wake of the Dragons' and Heretic Gods' advent, composed of people who had lost everything due to Dragon Disasters and the rarer Heretic God attacks, banding together through common objects of hatred, clashing with Dragon and Heretic God-worshipping cults and persecuting Ds, who they believed were tainted by Vritra's power.

Due to similar ideology, many of them had been absorbed by NIFL as branch organizations, granting them funding, military training and weaponry.

It was possible that Ariella had lost her family due to a Dragon Disaster when she was a child, recruited by a Dragon-dissenting cult, and subsequently exiled, possibly even sold on the black market, when she awakened as a D.

It explained how she was able to get NIFL training at such a young age, and how Miyazawa Kenya was able to 'acquire' a D.

But more importantly was the aura she was currently pouring out at him.

That pitch black murderous intent that seemed to darken the chamber by several shades.

That _familiar_ pitch black murderous intent.

He didn't know how it was possible, but she was just like Yuu was when he used Fafnir.

How was that possible? As far as he knew, he was the only one who had a cultivated Fafnir inside of him, though whether it was still there was questionable.

Plus, if Loki really had cultivated another Fafnir out there, she would have been brought into Sleipnir as well.

…Come to think of it, Charlotte said that the older twin's power to kill humanity, Code Lost, had dispersed after his death.

Not passed down, like the Grey Vampire's Dominance. Dispersed.

Loki's father, Farbauti Jotunheim, a descendant of the older twin, only possessed a fragment of Code Lost.

And he was almost completely certain that the Fafnir he had possessed was also a fragment of Code Lost.

That meant that there were other fragments out there, inside other people.

Could Ariella be one of them?

He really needed to have a chat with Loki.

But for now…

Yuu formed a ball of dark matter that quickly condensed into a knife identical to Ariella's.

"Alright then, shall we continue?" Yuu asked with a provocative smile as he held the knife in a reverse grip.

Ariella's lips curled into one of her own, and the two assassins, one that had transcended the realms of humanity, the other standing at the very pinnacle of humanity, dashed at each other, knives brandished.

* * *

Yuu was standing in the main lobby of Asgard's First Laboratory, behind the stage that had been set up for the press conference where his alliance with Asgard would be officially announced.

Reporters and journalists were streaming in by the dozen, drawn to big headlining news like moths to an open flame, giving security personnel a hard time as they had to ascertain the credentials of each individual entering the building, block all hallways that led to the sensitive and classified areas of the laboratory to stop any wanderers, accidental or intentional, and generally try to stem the mayhem.

Yuu's eyebrow twitched as he scratched at his itchy body yet again.

For the purpose of appearances at the press conference, he had been stuffed into what must be the stiffest, itchiest monkey suit in the world.

He really couldn't believe it, but a full military uniform, vest, helmet, rifle and all, would be more comfortable than this over-starched piece of stereotypical Italian fashion.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get into a heated fight last night, even if it was just a spar.

Yuu's body felt even more limbered up since he had woken after his battle with Gawain, but despite it being just as heated as a real battle, neither one of them had died. Hell, neither one of them was even wounded, having parried or dodged every blow.

And Yuu had not gone all out, not even close, and all of the aggression he had worked up during the fight was building up inside of him, like an itch that was beyond skin deep, impossible for him to scratch.

Unless he found a way to vent all of it, he might just reach critical mass and explode at any moment.

"Well, don't you just look dashing, Lieutenant Mononobe? No, I suppose it isn't Lieutenant anymore."

Yuu looked up into the very amused gaze of Major Loki, his lips stretched into a thin smile, like he was resisting the urge to burst into laughter.

"Ah, Major Loki. I've been looking for you, actually."

"For me? Odd, you usually don't have any problems staying as far away from me as possible." Loki commented.

"Yes, well, I have questions that, most likely, only you will be able to answer."

"Oh? And what questions do you have for me?"

"I've heard quite a number of interesting things. From the Grey Dragon."

Loki's smile vanished and he stared at Yuu with an impassive gaze.

"Really? What did she say?"

"She talked about her father. His older twin. Their powers over humanity. Oh, and your father, who was the descendant of the older twin."

Loki's eyes narrowed and his fists and lips tightened, making him look far more shaken than Yuu had ever seen him.

"Tch…that damn Grey…very well then. What is it you wish to know?"

"For starters, how about the connection between Code Lost and Fafnir?"

"If you have already heard about my father and his final act of killing Leonardo B. Lord, then you may have already noticed that Code Lost and your Fafnir are very similar. Both of them exist to kill humans. The reason is simple. Your Fafnir is a fragment of the original Code Lost, which had dissipated after the older twin, Colorless Fafnir, died without ever using it even once in his life."

Yuu nodded, idly noting the name that had been assigned to the older twin.

He had already figured that much out, but…

"Why do I have a fragment of Code Lost? Since Charlotte inherited her power from her father, I assumed that Dragon Authorities are supposed to be passed down bloodlines. Even if I was descended from Colorless Fafnir, I would be very far removed from him. His direct descendants should have been the ones to inherit the fragments of Code Lost."

"Yes, I surmise that is the case for Dragon Authorities, under normal circumstances. However, unlike the Grey Vampire's Dominance, Code Lost was never activated by the original possessor. That was why it broke down into several pieces, each with only a portion of the original Authority's power, and dispersed in the first place. The pieces then choose a possessor seemingly at random. Most of those possessors never even noticed the presence of the fragment within themselves in their lifetime, but a small number, influenced by the fragment's power, grew up to become killers in some capacity. Murderers with indiscriminate death counts of three digits, warlords who conquered, plundered and slaughtered, soldiers who killed for the sake of victory and survival, I suspect that a number of them were possessors of Code Lost, though since it was so long ago, I cannot prove it." Loki explained.

If the fragment was anything like Fafnir, giving its user a sense of omnipotence as long as the opponent was a human, he could see why the weak-hearted would be influenced by it.

How many of the most famous warriors and killers in history were actually those who had succumbed to Code Lost's power?

"After their deaths, the fragment breaks down again, decreasing their individual power, and the pieces randomly choose new possessors. This process has repeated itself for several centuries, and now, there are hundreds of fragments in existence, each varying in size, with most of the modern possessors being sociopaths who are now on death row for various counts of murder. When my father, a direct descendant of Colorless Fafnir, was born, he happened to obtain a large fragment of Code Lost that had yet to split itself too many times by chance, became a famous soldier renowned for his feats on the battlefield, and was eventually recruited by NIFL to kill Leonardo B. Lord. He succeeded, overcoming Dominance's induced immortality, but lost his life in the process as well. His fragment of Code Lost split itself and passed on. I, who was born shortly afterwards, did not inherit any of them. I only know of the existence of Code Lost through the notes that my father had left behind, compiled by Colorless Fafnir and passed down his bloodline. I myself was brought up by the same NIFL superiors who had recruited my father, hoping that I possessed the same power, though when it was clear that I did not, they abandoned the project."

"Clearly, you didn't."

"Of course not. The moment Charlotte B. Lord revealed herself to the world and continued her father's legacy, I knew that she had to be stopped, and Code Lost is the only thing capable of doing it. You already know why, don't you?"

"…Because some corrupt world leaders are blackmailing her to keep insurrections in their countries under control?"

"Correct. NIFL's mission is to protect the innocent. Perhaps it is nothing more than lip service, but I truly believe in that cause. Powerless as I am, I cannot do anything to the Seven Dragons or Heretic Gods. But, corrupt politicians? That, I can handle. And if the Grey Vampire stands in my way, willingly or not, I will eliminate her. For the sake of humanity." Loki declared solemnly, without even a hint of deceit in his eyes.

"…And you raised me as an assassin so that I could do it?"

"Yes. Though a Dragon, the existence of the Grey Vampire is still fundamentally that of a human, just one that has obtained power. As long as the target is a human, it doesn't matter if she is immortal. Code Lost can kill her."

"…In the first place, how does Code Lost work? Having used it before, I can see how it is absolute against humans, but what are the mechanics behind it?"

"Quite simple, Mononobe Yuu. The power of Code Lost is Causality Manipulation, the ability to completely control the fate of humanity. For example, imagine that a small child, beaten, emaciated, exhausted beyond his limits, wielding nothing but a rusty knife, was facing a soldier at the peak of his physical condition and armed to the teeth. The chances that child has of winning are honestly less than 1%. In order for the child to win, it would something along the lines of the following hypothetical sequence of events. 'The child happened to move out of the way of the first shot in time.' 'Shocked that his shot missed at close quarters, the soldier hesitated, allowing the child to close in.' 'The child stabs at the soldier with his knife, coincidentally striking the thigh of the soldier, one of the places on the soldier's body that is covered only by a minimal amount of protection' The knife happens to sever the femoral artery, causing the soldier to suffer from massive internal hemorrhaging and collapse to the ground.' 'Seizing the opportunity, the child stabs the soldier in the neck, severing the carotid artery and causing the soldier to bleed out.' Needless to say, the odds of such a sequence of events happening are next to zero, and the child has effectively no hope for victory."

Yuu nodded.

That was indeed an utterly hopeless situation.

But, that must be where Code Lost came in.

"However, it is a completely different story if the child possesses a fragment of Code Lost. Small fragments won't be enough to do anything, but if it is large enough, new paths open up before the child. You have experienced it yourself, haven't you, Mononobe Yuu? When facing a human opponent, as long as you have a clear image of what it is you wish to happen, such as subduing your opponent, Fafnir provides you with options that would lead you to that inevitable outcome. Your fragment of Code Lost, while much larger than the fragments that exist today, is still only a fraction of the original Authority, which is why its Causality Manipulation manifests in that way. But, even just that much is enough to guarantee a victory against a human. In that case, could you imagine just how powerful the original Authority was?"

Yuu's eyes narrowed.

He got the feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to hear.

"If Code Lost's power was limited solely to what you had experienced with Fafnir, there was no reason for the original Colorless Fafnir not to use it. After all, with that ability, he could wipe out all corruption without effort. But he did not, and for a very good reason. The original Code Lost is something far, far more terrifying than just that. The true reason why Colorless Fafnir could not use the original Code Lost was because, the moment it was activated and used even just once on a single target, it would have spiraled out of his control and indiscriminately target and kill every human on the planet."

Yuu felt a chill run down his spine at Loki's words.

"The Grey would have told you that she had to keep the output of her Dominance at a minimum to prevent it from going out of control. Unfortunately, Code Lost isn't quite as convenient to use. The only way for the output to be limited is to split the Authority itself down into fragments, stripping it of its full power. Even then, possessors can only use the maximum power available in the fragment, no lesser amount than that. But since it has split multiple times over the centuries, the power in each existing fragment, while greatly varying among each other, is relatively small compared to the original. That is why you were able to switch between your normal state and Fafnir at will." Loki explained.

"I see…in that case, exactly how much of Code Lost do I possess?"

"Hm…it's hard to say exactly what proportion of Code Lost you possess, but if I had to hazard a guess, the fragment of Code Lost you possess has somewhere between 5-10% of the original Authority's full power. Or rather, you _did_ possess a fragment of Code Lost that had somewhere between 5-10% of the original Authority's full power."

"…Hmph, so you noticed it too."

"Of course I did. Imagine my surprise when you were in a room with 7 humans, 5 of whom are Ds, and your murderous intent did not even so much as stir towards them. An impossibility, especially considering that Code Lost was created to kill humanity, and your fragment is substantially greater than any other currently existing today."

"Any ideas about what happened?"

"Only a theory. Your battle with the Heretic God and exposure to divine power must have affected the incomplete Authority somehow. How, I cannot say. That is something only you will be able to determine."

Yuu nodded, having already noticed that yesterday during his conversation with Charlotte.

It wasn't stirring even now, when Loki, a human, was standing right in front of him.

That meant that his fragment of Code Lost had changed at the most fundamental level.

In order to determine just how much it had changed…would he need to confront a Heretic God to do so?

And, it begot the question: If his fragment of Code Lost had mutated, did that mean that the entirety of Code Lost was forever lost, unable to become whole again?

His gut told him no, that a power created by a higher being could not be destroyed so easily.

But, something else was bothering him.

"Major Loki, you still have not answered my main question. Why did _I_ once possess a fragment of Code Lost?"

Did it choose him from birth? Or had it been given to him via a different method?

"…Very perceptive, Mononobe Yuu. Your fragment is unusually large in this age, and even if it were naturally occurring, it would have awakened in you much sooner, considering your aptitude for it. You did not possess a fragment of Code Lost from the beginning. I said before that I cultivated it inside you. Do you understand what that means?"

Yuu shuddered.

"…In other words, you somehow introduced the fragment of Code Lost into my body when you recruited me?"

"Correct. The mechanics behind the inheritance of Dragon Authorities are extremely similar to that of the Divine Authorities that Heretic Gods and Campione wield. The bond between parent and child is indeed strong, strong enough for the child to inherit the parent's Authority upon the parent's death, but this is only the case when the Authority is in a complete state, and there is one bond that possesses even greater priority when it comes to the succession of Dragon Authorities. That is the karma born between the killed and killer. Though the exact mechanics behind it are unknown, Campiones gain the Authorities of the Heretic God they slay. In the same way, a being that manages to end the life of a Dragon will gain its Authority. This applies even to the fragments of Code Lost. My father did not take Leonardo B. Lord's Dominance because they killed each other at the same time, which was why Dominance was passed down to Charlotte B. Lord, and my father's fragment of Code Lost split itself and dispersed. I painstakingly tracked down as many possessors of fragments of Code Lost as I could, and depending on the size of their fragment, I did one of two things. If their fragment was large enough, I forcefully recruited them into my unsanctioned assassination unit. I then granted each of them a codename: Hreidmar."

Yuu's eyes widened at the revelation of both Hreidmar's identity, and that there was apparently more than one.

"As for the ones whose fragment was too small to be of use to me, I decided to sacrifice them in order to strengthen the fragments that the Hreidmars possessed. I fed them capsules of the powdered blood of a Hreidmar, laced with lethal doses of poison."

The blood drained rapidly from Yuu's face as he realized what Loki had been doing.

"After they died, their small fragments went to the Hreidmar whose blood I fed to them and augmented their larger fragments. However, I ran into an unexpected obstacle. The bodies of the Hreidmars were not able to withstand any more of Code Lost's power than what their original fragment already possessed. Thus, when they received new fragments, their bodies broke down into a completely unstable state, which eventually led to their deaths. After the first few failures, I was able to create and perfect suits of armor that could halt that process as long as they were inside, allowing them to interact with the physical plane. If that armor was to be damaged, their bodies would start breaking down again."

So, that's why he had never seen Hreidmar's face.

It wasn't because Hreidmar chose not to take off his or her helmet, it was because he or she couldn't without killing themselves in the process.

"This continued until I had recruited about 30 Hreidmars, each not being able to sustain their physical bodies after receiving new fragments. Truth be told, I had hit a dead end on what to do. And then I found you." Loki spoke, his smile widening greatly.

Dread began to fill Yuu.

"You were quite the specimen. The only male D in the world, who had just successfully defeated, though not kill, the Hekatonkheir, in a single blow no less. And the moment I saw you, I somehow just knew that you were what I was looking for. So, I recruited you, and once you had begun your training, I started cultivating your Fafnir by having as many small fragments as possible passed down to you. And miraculously, despite not having a fragment of Code Lost in the first place, your body did not break down into an unstable state despite the number of fragments collected in your body. Eventually, the fragment that had formed inside of you from countless small fragments coalescing had grown larger than any of the Hreidmars. Without a doubt, you were the ideal 'Fafnir', a worthy successor of the original Colorless Fafnir."

"…Though, in the end, that fragment turned into something unexpected."

"Yes, I have to say, it was quite disappointing to lose the largest fragment of Code Lost in existence today…but, a mutated Authority that is targeted towards Gods…I suppose that might be better than an Authority targeted towards humanity." Loki mused.

At that moment, they were interrupted.

"P-Pardon my intrusion! Mononobe Yuu-sama, the conference will start soon, so please go on stage!" An Asgard personnel entered the backstage area and informed him with a very nervous voice, looking like she could pass out at any moment.

"Ah, sure. I'll be…right there." Yuu replied, pausing when the woman didn't even wait for him to finish before dashing out.

"Looks like we'll have to continue this discussion another time, Mononobe Yuu."

"Yes. I'll be going then." Yuu said as he moved to the drapes that blocked the backstage area from view.

Just as he was about to leave, Yuu stopped, one final burning question on his mind.

"…How many?"

"Excuse me?"

"How many Code Lost fragment possessors were sacrificed to cultivate my Fafnir?" Yuu asked.

How many humans had been killed so that he could gain a power to kill even more human? Yuu wanted to know.

Loki stared at him for a few seconds, and then his lips stretched into a very cold smile.

"In total? 122 possessors."

* * *

"…students are all split into classes of 9. It might seem like a small number, but since the student body numbers less than 100, we still have a lot of empty classrooms…Nii-san, are you listening?" Mitsuki asked him with a pout on her face, pausing in her long explanation of life on Midgard.

"Hm? Ah, sorry, I was thinking about something." Yuu snapped back to attention and apologized to her.

The Mononobe siblings, as well as the other four members of the Brunhilde class and the two Midgard faculty present, were walking down the jet way to the private jet that would take them to Midgard.

Night had long fallen over the capital of Japan.

They were originally meant to leave for Midgard in the afternoon, but the press conference had dragged on much longer than expected.

Understandable, since the media were getting their first chance ever to actually interview a Campione.

It wasn't just the Japanese, reporters and journalists from all over the world had come to attend the press conference.

If they screwed it up, it would end their careers faster than one could say 'you're fired'.

On the other hand, if they were able to get a good story, it would boost their careers instead.

That was probably why they had asked him as many questions as they could.

Yuu didn't really mind, as long as the questions did not directly pertain to sensitive information, such as his Authorities, in which case he would divert the question or decline to answer at all.

One reporter had gotten in over his head, and asked, or rather, demanded very bluntly that he reveal the details of his Authorities, and the smoldering glare that Yuu had directed at him had everyone in the room frantically ducking for cover and sweating waterfalls as the temperature of the room rose several degrees.

The reporter got the point, and sat his ass back down, shaking in his seat and not saying anything else for the rest of the session.

Needless to say, his career had been sunk like a stone.

It was also during the conference that Yuu experienced another perk of being a Campione.

Namely, he could comprehend all languages.

There were translators on site to interpret for the non-Japanese speaking, but some had gotten impatient and just shouted their questions instead of asking for a translation first.

The translators quickly found themselves speechless, and useless, when Yuu replied perfectly in multiple foreign languages, some of which he had never even encountered before, without missing a beat.

The press conference probably would have dragged on longer, possibly well into the night, but Asgard finally had enough and put an end to the session after it had gone on for a good 6 hours after it was supposed to end, even at the risk of putting themselves in a bad light in the media's eyes.

The reporters and journalists grumbled, but none had outright protested, probably out of fear of offending him.

And now Yuu found himself here, about to head to Midgard.

It had been a very long day, and Yuu had been processing everything he had learned, which was why he hadn't been paying attention to Mitsuki.

Grey Vampire, Colorless Fafnir, their Authorities.

There was a lot for him to think about.

But, that could wait till later, he supposed. Right now, he should entertain his little sister.

He looked out at the sleek and very expensive looking jet that was waiting for them.

The Midgard group had apparently gotten here via helicopter, but since he was now on the passenger list, a private jet had been prepared instead.

Just another perk of being a Campione.

It was quite a distance between Japan and Midgard, and even with a jet's speed, they were not expected to arrive until the following morning, which suited Yuu just fine.

He could get some sleep during the trip.

…Or at least, that was what he thought.

But, things rarely ever went as planned.

"M-Mononobe Yuu-sama!"

Yuu stopped and cringed when he heard someone calling his name in the usual ostentatious manner.

He really wished they would stop calling him that. It was embarrassing as hell.

Mitsuki and the others directed looks of pity, and curiosity, towards him, though Miyako's was mixed with no little amount of amusement.

Yuu returned looks of long suffering to them, and a look of annoyance at Miyako, before turning to face the person calling him.

A young man, dressed in Asgard's uniform, was running towards them, face red, sweaty, and filled with panic.

He came to a stop before him, completely out of breath, like he had just run a marathon.

Considering the distance between the First Laboratory and the airport, it probably wasn't too far off if he had actually run the entire trip.

"Is something wrong?"

The trip to Midgard was a planned part of his itinerary, followed by a visit to NIFL headquarters, and finally to Asgard headquarters, which would then be repeated in that order on a weekly basis, to establish a liaison to all 3 organizations.

If Asgard was suddenly interrupting its own plans, it must have been an emergency.

And if it involved him…

"H-Heretic God Ares has reappeared in Greece!"

Somehow, it had devolved into the worst case scenario.

* * *

And I'm done. This chapter went on for a lot longer than I thought.

Sorry if you guys were expecting more action, but it's simply unfeasible that a Heretic God would show up every chapter.

In the first place, Heretic God attacks are supposed to be rare, so much so that even the Old Campiones, who have been around for centuries, still presumably only have a handful of Authorities.

But hey, there's gonna be one next chapter, I can guarantee you that.

Anyway, that's all for now.

As always, please read and review.


	4. Chapter 3: The Belligerent War God

"Roughly one hour, at 1732 hours, Greece time, the reappearance of Heretic God Ares was confirmed in the city of Lamia. The evacuation of the civilians is ongoing, but the effects of Ares's Authority are slowing efforts down. Currently, anyone within a 700-meter radius of him falls into a frenzy and attacks anyone else nearby, even each other. That area of effect is slowly increasing, and is expected to encompass the entire region by daybreak, and spread to other parts of the country." The Asgard personnel reported to him.

Yuu didn't find that particularly surprising. The same thing had happened 23 years ago during Ares's original appearance, the momentous event that had revealed the existence of Heretic Gods and magic to the mundane.

The Heretic God had only stuck around for two hours back then, but that alone had been enough to utterly devastate the capital of Greece.

It had taken almost a full decade for the iconic city to be restored back to its former beauty.

Yuu suspected they were going to have a lot more rebuilding to do once he and Ares were through with each other.

He and the Asgard employee that had gotten stuck with the duty of briefing him were currently sitting in a military transporter aircraft bound for Kozani National Airport in Central Macedonia, about the furthest point they could get away from the mainland to avoid being caught up in the projected range of Ares's Authority by the time they landed, while still being close enough for Yuu to act.

It was technically a national airport, with only domestic flights, but an exception was made in a time of emergency.

Any delay could result in more casualties after all.

The Midgard personnel were also onboard, seated nearby so that they could also listen in on the briefing.

They, along with Yuu, were originally supposed to head for the tropical island fort, but the reappearance of the first Heretic God to make himself known to the mundane put a monkey wrench in those plans.

They were actually supposed to return to Midgard without him, but he guessed Charlotte B. Lord pulled some strings using her connections and/or her Dominance to get them clearance to come along.

It would be good for the Dragon Subjugation Squad to get a firsthand look at the power of a Heretic God up close rather than from secondhand footage.

However, she had made it clear that they were not to attempt to engage Ares in any way, and to leave the actual fighting to him.

Yuu backed her up. Heretic Gods were not beings that humans could fight, Ds or not. As he reminded himself many times, his own victory over Gawain was through a series of incredibly lucky circumstances.

There had been so many factors involved in that battle, and if even just one of them gone differently from how it did, Yuu was certain he would be ashes in the wind right now.

Even as a Campione, his chances of victory were not absolute. There was a reason why there were only 7 living Campione at the moment, despite the legends of the God Slaying Devil Kings going back several millennia.

Heretic Gods were all, without exception, monsters beyond human imagination.

Then again, the same could be said of Campione.

Perhaps that was why Yuu did not feel the slightest bit of fear at the idea of fighting another Heretic God when his first encounter with one had gone so horribly.

There was one thing bothering him though.

"Why am I the one being requested to deal with the situation? Since it's Greece, the closest should be Salvatore Doni. He could get there much faster than us."

Which was the truth. Yuu may be a beyond human existence now, but he still couldn't instantly cross half the globe by himself.

He still needed transportation, and as fast as military aircrafts could go, they were still going to need roughly half a day to get there.

In just one hour, Ares's rage-inducing Authority had already covered a 700-meter radius.

In 12 hours, the entire region and the closest parts of the bordering regions were expected to also be affected.

Italy was very close to Greece, and by flight, it would only take an hour or two.

Salvatore Doni, who was based in Italy, should be better suited to responding than he was.

So, why was Yuu the one being asked instead?

"Unfortunately, neither our branches in Italy nor the independent Magic Associations of the region have been unable to get a hold of Lord Salvatore Doni. The last they heard, he had gone off a week ago on another expedition to Egypt to find and challenge Madame Aisha."

"…Seriously?"

Yuu vaguely heard Miyako mutter under her breath in disbelief.

Yeah, that pretty much summed how he felt too.

He resisted the urge to punch the cabin wall.

While he was sure that even his newfound strength would not allow him to punch a hole in the cabin wall with a mere halfhearted punch, he didn't want to damage the structure and screw up the internal pressure.

He wasn't too keen on finding out if his Campione body was capable of surviving an 11 kilometer drop in a metal deathtrap.

But seriously, what the hell was wrong with his senpai?

He heard that the Campione of Italy was irresponsible, and apparently even mentally retarded, but he hadn't thought it was so bad that he would remain unreachable in a time of emergency.

If all of the other Campione were like that too, he could understand why Asgard had been so desperate to have him affiliated with them.

"Has Ares himself made any moves?"

"No. Surveillance shows that Ares is still in the center of Lamia, where he appeared. He has shown no indications of moving."

"Exactly the same as 23 years ago." Charlotte noticed.

During his first emergence, Ares also did not move from where he had appeared in Athens. Though he had demonstrated his obscene power by thrusting his spear once and leveling a part of the capital as a result, he mostly just stood there laughing as the nearby citizens and soldiers went nuts from the effects of his Authority and did most of the work for him.

"In that case, there's also the possibility he'll disappear before we get there, just like he did back then."

Ares had left roughly two hours after emerging the first time, so if he was following the same pattern he was back then, he would do so again.

"No, I'm afraid that does not appear to be the case." The Asgard personnel said as he pulled out a laptop and opened it up to reveal it already turned on, the screen showing paused footage of a massively-built man with burnt red hair, dressed in blood-stained golden Ancient Greek infantry armor, a flaming plume atop the helmet, holding a spear made of stained red metal, and a barely visible blood red aura around him.

Probably footage taken using drones.

Yuu's eyes narrowed at the sight of the Greek God of War, Ares.

His heart started pumping faster as the bulk of his mental faculties all focused on the image of the Heretic God.

The employee hit the spacebar, causing the video to play.

[Hahahahaha! Now, isn't this a glorious sight!? Blood! Violence! Death! But, this is no war! This is but a simple massacre! Where is my worthy opponent!? I will not be satisfied until my own blood has been spilled!]

A brutish male voice spilled forth from the laptop's speakers, causing Yuu's ears to ring unpleasantly.

Thankfully, the Asgard employee hit the spacebar again, causing the image to freeze and the audio to cut off.

"We surmised from his words that he has no intention of leaving until he fights an opponent capable of drawing blood from him. Needless to say, no human could possibly do this under normal circumstances. That is why we are asking for your help."

Yuu nodded absentmindedly.

If Ares, a Heretic God, was demanding a worthy opponent, it could only be a Campione, another Heretic God, or perhaps a Dragon.

And the latter two were both unfeasible options.

Trying to pit him against another Heretic God was just stupid.

Yuu seriously didn't think that Asgard would be able to conveniently find another Heretic God in Ares's vicinity, and if by some unbelievable miracle/calamity that they did, he had no idea exactly how they were going to lure them towards each other, or if they would even fight when they met.

For all they knew, they might work together to wreak even more havoc.

As for Dragons, Yuu wasn't too sure about their effectiveness against Heretic Gods.

Yggdrasil was way too flimsy to fight against Divine Authorities. That was made very clear when Yuu singlehandedly vaporized its terminal with one shot from Galatine.

He didn't know whether Ares had such a spectacular Authority, but he didn't think the Green Dragon would be able to put up much of a fight.

The only thing the Hekatonkheir had going for it was its immense size. It was laughably fragile, even more so than Yggdrasil's wooden body.

Ordinary weapons were capable of destroying its body rather easily, with a recent bombardment of incendiary weapons by NIFL successfully vaporizing it completely, though it did regenerate soon after.

If human weapons were capable of doing that, then it was beyond the shadow of a doubt that a Divine Authority could do the same.

If anything, the power of a Divine Authority might even be enough to prevent its regeneration.

He didn't know much about the other Dragons, having never encountered them before, but he could safely say that the Purple Kraken wouldn't stand a chance either.

Its power, Absolute, consisted of mithril tentacles and an eye capable of firing antimatter bolts, dubbed the strongest defense and the strongest offense by Asgard.

But, that was only when facing humans.

Mithril was a durable substance, stronger than even diamond, but it was no different from paper in the face of a Divine Authority, or even a divine weapon like Galatine.

Antimatter, as its name would suggest, required matter to react with in order to explode.

He wasn't sure what composed the bodies of Heretic Gods, but he was fairly certain that if they were anything like his own current body, antimatter wouldn't affect them.

It wasn't visible to the naked eye, but Yuu could feel the highly condensed layer of magic energy covering his skin.

That solved the riddle of why Campione were unaffected by mortal magic. It was a natural defense that mowed down the force of spells before they could even reach his physical body. It wasn't at a level where anything short of Divine Authorities was capable of piercing it.

If Heretic Gods possessed that same type of body as Campione, antimatter wouldn't be able to reach them, and the explosion resulting from a reaction from the surrounding air wouldn't even get through the defense.

As for the Red Basilisk's lasers that reduced everything they touched to ashes, dust or salt, it didn't seem like it would do much against said defense either.

The Yellow Hraesvelgr…he didn't even begin to understand what its power was, so he couldn't say whether its supposed invulnerability would stand up against Divine Authorities, and even if it did, he wasn't sure how an overgrown pigeon was going to fight a Heretic God.

Now, the White Leviathan, on the other hand…that would be an interesting fight.

Antigravity could reflect everything from physical matter to energy.

He wasn't sure whether it would work against Divine Authorities, but if it could…well, he imagined having their own Authorities thrown back into their faces with full force wouldn't be a pleasant experience for any Heretic God.

But, the point was rather moot, because the Leviathan was a sea-bound Dragon.

It could probably come onto land with some application of Antigravity, but he didn't think it would be very effective if it had to release the Antigravity field for some reason or other and then flop rather uselessly around on the ground.

Which left only the Campione.

The Elder Three were all recluses in their own ways, the Fourth did as he pleased, and apparently only showed up when his interest was piqued, the Fifth rarely left America, and the Sixth was evidently a fucking idiot.

Which basically meant that it all fell down to him.

Great.

"But, we won't be able to do anything about Ares until half a day later. By that time, no matter where we land in Greece, it'll be a battle in itself to actually get to him." Charlotte added, causing Yuu to grimace.

Ares's Authority might very well envelop the entire country by the time they get there.

Which meant Yuu would have to get through wave after wave of crazed citizens and NIFL soldiers to get to the God of War.

Trying to push past a massive crowd of angry humans while not injuring or outright killing them with his new strength might prove to be an even greater challenge than actually fighting the Heretic God himself.

Yuu was not looking forward to it.

"In any case, we won't be there for another 11 hours. Mononobe Yuu-sama, please rest until then. Would you care for any refreshments?" The Asgard employee stood up and asked, his tone quickly changing to an oily one, much like what Yuu had been experiencing from almost everyone the past 2 days.

Yuu hung his head in exasperation.

"…No, it's fine. I just need something to fill my stomach before we land." Yuu said with a sigh.

"Yes sir! Of course!" The man yelled exuberantly in response before scurrying off to the back of the plane, presumably to prepare something for him in the galley.

Yuu rolled his eyes, slumping in his seat in exhaustion.

"You really got a lot on your plate now, bro. Barely two days passed since you became a Campione, and you had to fight a Dragon, and now a Heretic God too." Miyako commented with a wide grin.

"Tell me about it. Maybe I should apply for vacation after this." Yuu lamented.

His eyes turned to regard the night sky outside.

If he remembered correctly, Japan and Greece had a 6 hour time difference.

Which meant that when they reached Greece, it would be around 6am local time.

Just in time for sunrise.

He wouldn't have to worry about not having access to his full power right from the get go.

The question was whether or not he would be able to reach Ares and defeat him before sunset.

The most ideal situation would be for him to start and end a fight before the sun set.

If he had to, he would start a battle in the middle of the night, even if it meant that he wouldn't be able to use the Chivalrous Knight of the Sun, at least not until the sun rose.

At the very least, he would be able to fight consistently, and even get a boost in power if the battle was dragged on long enough.

But, if he fought in the day and dragged on into the night, he would suffer greatly, because he would instantly and abruptly lose a great deal of power the moment the sun disappeared below the horizon.

There would be no way for him to recover from that. It was likely that the battle was over the moment that happened, and his life forfeit.

That was why he needed another Authority, and quick, before that weakness got him killed.

And it looked like Ares was the perfect candidate.

Air built up rapidly in his throat as his ears popped slightly, and though he tried to hold it back, Yuu couldn't help but yawn.

Not with his mouth wide open, of course. He probably covered the orifice with his hand.

Still, the action did not escape the notice of the others.

"Mononobe Yuu, if you are tired, you should get some sleep. A daunting task awaits you tomorrow. That goes for the rest of you too. You may not be fighting a Heretic God like he is, but you can be sure that we will need to be prepared for anything that could happen while in Greece." Charlotte B. Lord said to him, before addressing the Midgard group.

"…I guess it'd be good for me to get some shuteye." Yuu admitted as he shifted in his very comfortable seat and closed his eyes.

Around him, he could hear the other shuffling around, their seats squeaking as they got comfortable.

And just as he was about to drift off, Mitsuki said something, causing his eyes to shoot wide open.

"…By the way, Nii-san, I've been wondering since yesterday, but have you contacted Otou-san and Okaa-san yet?"

…Oh.

…Oh, shit.

Yuu mentally cursed as he finally remembered a very important detail that he had completely forgotten up until this point.

Forget Dragons. Forget Heretic Gods.

Having to call up his parents after almost a whole year of unexplained disappearance and telling them that he was a former soldier-turned Godslayer, and that he was on his way to the other side of the world to fight one of the most dangerous beings in existence might very well be the most herculean task he would ever have to perform.

* * *

It was a loud commotion that woke Yuu up, a cacophony of loud, panicked voices that stirred him from the land of dreams.

His eyelids creaked open, still heavy from his slumber, and he immediately got an eyeful of bright light, making him quickly turn away from the source.

Once his sight had adjusted, he turned back to see that the sun had begun to rise over the horizon.

Had they reached their destination?

He leaned closer to the window, looking downwards to find land below.

The plane had apparently descended to a lower altitude, past the clouds that would have otherwise obscured the view.

But that wasn't what Yuu was thinking of right now.

At the forefront of his mind was, without a doubt, the very suspicious looking translucent red dome of energy engulfing a large part of Greece, extending far up into the air, not high enough to reach the plane, but high enough for the distance to be uncomfortably small.

"What…is that?" He asked under his breath as he stared at it.

Just looking at the angry red energy was causing him to tense up.

The commotion that had been going on for a while reached his ears again, and he turned to find the Midgard group crowding around the entrance to the cockpit.

Frowning, he got up, his bones cracking after being in the same position for hours, and approached.

"What's going on?"

Everyone turned to face him.

"You've already seen that red dome down there, right? That appears to be Ares's Authority."

"What? We didn't get any reports of anything like that during his first appearance or last night."

"From the reports from NIFL soldiers who have yet to fall under the influence of the Authority, it appeared 6 hours after Ares did. And the behavior of those inside the sphere is becoming more and more erratic. The death toll is quickly rising. Furthermore, the Authority is spreading faster than we imagined. Both Kozani, the city where we were supposed to land, and the nearest city with another airport, Kastoria, have already been engulfed. We can no longer land safely, and by the rate at which the Authority is spreading, there isn't anywhere on mainland Greece where we will be able to land without the risk of being caught in the dome."

"Landing on the adjacent islands will not do. It would be suicidal to approach the mainland by a sea route." The Asgard employee added.

"In other words, there's no way for us to reach Greece?"

A stiff silence fell over them as they contemplated the situation.

With such a sudden change in the situation, even Asgard would not be able to respond in time to switch over to sea travel.

By the time a vessel was ready, the Authority would have already spread over the coastline.

And even if Yuu somehow reached the coast of the mainland, who knew how long it would take to get to Lamia, located in the heart of the country, especially with all of the locals in the middle of an Authority-fueled craze?

At this rate, Greece, and possibly the surrounding countries would fall under Ares's influence until the God of War chose to leave.

Was there nothing left that they could do…?

Yuu thought deeply as he turned to peer out at the world below through the window.

Was there nothing he could do from up here…?

… _Up here_?

An idea popped into his head.

It was crazy, borderline suicidal, but it might just work.

It looked he would be taking the plunge.

Literally.

He turned to the pilot.

"Does this aircraft have bay doors installed?"

"Eh!? Um…well, yes. This is a transport aircraft after all."

"Good. Fly over Lamia while keeping away from the dome. Then, open the bay doors. I'm gonna need a parachute."

"M-Mononobe-kun, you're not going to do what I think you're going to do, are you?" Firill asked, her face paling as she imagined what those instructions implied.

"Yup, I'm jumping out." Yuu replied in an almost casual manner.

"D-Don't be insane! That's an 11 kilometer drop! This isn't a level that can be called skydiving! You'll freeze to death before you can even deploy the parachute!" Lisa protested, looking like she was about to spontaneously develop acrophobia at the thought of the humanely impossible drop.

"I'm a Campione, remember? Superhuman durability comes with the package. Plus, my Authority is one of the Sun. I doubt I'll get so much as frostbite."

"Judging by your words, even you are not 100% certain! It's too risky!"

"The more time we waste, the more Ares's Authority will spread. At this rate, it might even reach other countries. This method is the fastest I can think of, but if you can think of a better, I'd sure love to hear it." He countered.

That caused any further protests to fall silent.

As crazy as his idea sounded to the group of humans, plus the sole human-shaped Dragon amongst them who had been raised with human standards, it was the only one that was feasible at the moment.

The sooner he got to and defeated Ares, the sooner the situation would be resolved.

Plus, Yuu was well aware.

His body temperature would not drop as long as the sun was up, no matter how low the ambient temperature was up here.

The benefit of having a powerful Sun Authority.

He couldn't see another way.

"Mononobe-sama, we're almost over Lamia's general region. If you intend to jump, you have to do it within a minute, or we'll miss the window." The pilot added in an urgent manner.

"If there aren't any further objections, I have to get going. If we keep delaying, we'll really be out of options."

The dome was not just expanding across the surface. It was also extending upwards, and sooner or later, it would reach them all the way up here at 11 kilometers.

The rest kept silent, seemingly unable to come up with another idea.

Yuu turned, heading for the bay doors located at the other end of the aircraft.

"Nii-san!"

Yuu stopped when Mitsuki called out to him.

He looked at her, expecting her to protest what he was about to do.

Instead, she appeared to be struggling with herself, trying to decide what it was she should say.

Eventually, she just smiled sadly.

"Please come back safely." She said…no, pleaded.

Yuu really wished he could reply with absolute certainty.

But, he couldn't.

Luck was a major factor in a battle with Heretic Gods.

No matter how prepared he was, no matter how many advantages he had on his side, he might defeat Ares without a scratch…or he might get one-sidedly slaughtered by the God of War.

There was no certainty when it came to battles between beings that vastly transcended the world's logic.

So, instead, he…

"Don't worry. I have no intention of dying so easily."

That was all he was able to say to her.

* * *

Yuu's body lit up with white hot flames as soon as his feet touched the ground, rapidly melting the thick layer of frost that coated him.

The temperature at 11 kilometers altitude was seriously no joke.

If he was an ordinary human, he probably would have died before he could even deploy the parachute.

As he had thought, his body temperature hadn't dropped even at the negative temperatures, but it hadn't stopped ice from forming on the surface of his body as he descended.

He had refrained from using his flames before he landed because he didn't want to accidently burn his parachute and plummet the rest of the way.

He looked up at the dome and frowned.

The sun's influence was being blocked.

The Sun-Blessed Knight had definitely activated, as proven by his ability to produce divine flames around his body.

However, it felt somewhat muted, as though it was being prevented from reaching its full potential.

As expected, it had to be because of the dome.

"Hm?"

Yuu let out a sound of inquiry when he felt _something_ , a whisper of some sort, so small that he had almost missed it.

It was gone as soon as it had come, preventing him from identifying it.

"Something wrong, Mononobe Yuu?"

Yuu's hand went up to his right ear, where a wireless earbud had been wedged into the aural cavity, Charlotte B. Lord's voice projecting directly inside.

"Did one of you say something just now?"

"Huh? No, not at all. Why do you ask?"

"Could have sworn I heard something…must be my imagination. I have to say, this thing is pretty amazing, being able to survive an 11 kilometer drop with the accompanying changes in air pressure and temperature."

"It's a prototype that was made for NIFL operations that involve extreme conditions, so it's quite durable. That being said, it obviously won't survive being hit by an Authority. It was expensive to make, so try not to break it."

"No promises. Getting back on topic, where exactly did I land?" Yuu asked as he looked around.

He was inside the red dome, that was for sure, but it was hard to land precisely without knowing where to go, so he just focused on getting as close to the center as he could.

He was currently in the middle of some mountainous area, surrounded by greenery, taller mounds, and not much else.

"From the GPS readings, you're currently in the Othrys mountain range, just a few kilometers northeast of Lamia. You should be able to see the city if you follow a downward path."

Yuu followed her instructions and proceeded down the inclined slope of the mountainous region.

Eventually, the natural scenery gave way to something far different.

"Do you see it?"

"Yeah, and I can't say I like what I see. It's seriously like a scene from Hell." Yuu replied with a grimace.

And he wasn't exaggerating.

The town of Lamia, situated at the foot of the mountain range he was on, was a scene of carnage.

The entire city was on fire, so intense he could feel hot wind blowing in his direction despote still being a distance away.

Considering that nothing else in the surroundings under the dome appeared to be on fire, he was gonna go out on a limb and say that that was not the result of Ares's Authority, but rather, the actions of the frenzied humans.

Who he could vaguely make out even among the flames.

He had seen scenes like this on battlefields, with a slight difference.

Usually, civilians caught in the chaos would be running around in a panic, but most of them would be running in a similar direction: away from the source of their panic.

Here, they were just running around in seemingly random directions. Some left the city's boundaries, others remained inside, and some who wandered out eventually wandered back in, all the while attacking practically anything that moved, and even some things that didn't.

And in the center of the city, Yuu could sense it.

It was probably unperceivable to normal humans, but to him, it was as glaring as a massive lit beacon in the dead of the night.

There was an intense feeling of divinity coming from the center of the city, something that Yuu instinctively recognized as _his enemy_.

If the presence of the red dome around them wasn't proof enough, that certainly was.

Ares was there.

And then he realized something.

If he could sense Ares's presence all the way from here, then it was pretty much a sure thing that Ares could sense his as well.

It was the same concept as the other party also being able to see you if they were in your field of vision.

Then, as if on cue, the erratic behavior of the frenzied humans changed.

While they were all initially moving around randomly, they had all changed directions and were heading the same way.

Towards him.

"Oh boy."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that Ares knows I'm here. I'll have to cut communications." Yuu reported, and immediately switched the earpiece off.

He would need all of his focus for this.

Most likely, Ares had sensed his presence and was now actively using his Authority to influence the frenzied humans to attack him.

Yuu was now a Campione, but he was a freshly minted one, who still acted more like a human most of the time.

Which was why he found the sight of a veritable tsunami of humans heading in his direction to be a little intimidating.

That feeling was quickly crushed down as Yuu steeled his spirit.

What should he do now?

They were hostiles right now, but they were still civilians.

He couldn't exactly use his Authority against them without destroying every last trace of them.

"No choice. I have to knock them out."

Yuu dashed forward to meet them…and almost grinded to a halt when he realized how fast he was moving.

It was completely different compared to how it was back when he was a human.

Even Fafnir paled in comparison to this, though that might be obvious, considering that Loki had explained that Code Lost did not actually increase the power of its possessor in any way, but altered causality itself in order to kill humans.

He wasn't moving at some crazy superhuman speed that would shatter the sound barrier, but he guessed that he was currently moving as fast as an Olympic-level runner.

Maybe even a bit faster.

And while he was under the sun, he guessed he could go even faster.

Yuu smiled.

With this speed…wasn't it possible for him to just run past them?

Picking up speed once more, Yuu dashed right towards the approaching humans…and went right past them.

As expected, even if they were currently being influenced by a Divine Authority, they couldn't keep up with him at all.

Though, that was probably because this Authority wasn't one that granted blessings of power in the first place.

Yuu zoomed right past horde after horde of berserk humans, easily sidestepping or outright leaping over debris in the way, until he finally came across his target.

The Greek God of War languished atop a gruesome pile of human bodies, purposely contorted in a way that formed a bloody, fleshy throne for Ares to overlook his handiwork.

The worst part was that they were still alive, because Yuu could see them squirming underneath him, as though trying to escape, but unable to.

Which probably had something to do with the red-stained spear driven right through their bodies and into the ground.

Yuu almost tripped over his feet when Ares suddenly turned to look at him with his flaming eyes.

He had been spotted!

Yuu stopped abruptly, just in time for him to see Ares pull his spear out of the pile of bodies, drawing anguished screams from them as he did so before they fell silent, likely dead.

He kicked off the ground, moving to the side when a red flash shot like a comet through the spot that he had just vacated, and would have torn right through his sternum rather accurately if he had not moved out of the way in time.

The spear landed and pierced the ground a short distance away, and Yuu gulped at how close to death he had been once again.

"Oh, how impressive! To think one as young as you was capable of seeing my spear! No, I suppose one capable of slaying my kin at your age would be most skilled. Tell me, are you my worthy opponent, boy?" Ares asked, an amused expression on his face.

Yuu did not reply, and simply summoned Galatine.

The sword roared with white hot flames, its full power exhibited while under sunlight.

He frowned as he noted the frenzied humans backing away from them.

Whether it was because their survival instinct had kicked in even despite the influence of Ares's Authority, warning them that they did not want to be anywhere near the epicenter of a clash between a Campione and a Heretic God, or because Ares was ordering them to leave so that they wouldn't interfere with the fight, he did not know.

Ares's grin widened, and he held out his hand.

His ears picked up the telltale sound of something large moving rapidly through the air, and Yuu ducked just in time to avoid the War God's spear, the butt of which would have slammed very painfully into the back of his head if he had not done so.

The red-stained spear shot into Ares's hand, which closed around the shaft.

The Heretic God pointed the tip at Yuu, and spoke.

"I am eager to do battle with you, and I can see that you feel the same. However, first, a test! It would not do if you did not possess the power to match me!"

The God of War inverted the spear in his grip as he declared proudly, slamming the tip into the ground as he did so.

"Come to me, Warriors of Blood! Gather under my banner of bloodshed, wage your wars and feast upon the entrails of the fallen!" Ares incanted.

The ground rumbled as cracks spread through the surface in a spider web pattern, originating from where the spear had perforated the concrete.

An ominous red light shone from within the cracks, growing brighter and brighter…until a skeletal arm broke through, jutting out from the ground.

Yuu twitched as the osseous fingers flexed, as though their owner was getting used to feeling them, before the entire appendage slammed down on the cracked concrete, giving the rest of the forming skeleton leverage to break out.

One by one, the process was repeated all over the place, until Yuu found himself staring at an army of human frameworks, still increasing in number by the second, moving impossibly without a nervous system or any muscles…

Nope, spoke too soon.

Blood vessels, cartilage, muscles, organs and skin soon began to form over the bones, quickly followed by chitons and Ancient Greek military armor and spears that, while not as ornate or imposing as Ares's own equipment, still looked very intimidating for such an obsolete form of warfare, making for a macabre yet awe-inspiring sight as the mob of skeletons turned into a legion of well-built, almost identical male soldiers, all with soulless, glowing red eyes that were directed at him.

Yuu could tell just by looking at them.

They weren't like the frenzied citizens, who had all but vanished from senses' perceptual range, likely out of the city by now.

They were humans who were under the influence of a Divine Authority, but they were ultimately still just that: humans.

These were bona fide physical manifestations of another of Ares's Authorities, probably the one that governed war.

Calling these things humans was like calling the Hekatonkheir a midget.

"Behold! My army! A gathering of the finest followers, loyal to me even well past their time! They will be your opponent, boy! Prove yourself worthy of my attention!" Ares shouted flamboyantly, his lips curled into a wide grin, like a proud parent praising their children.

As one, the soldiers moved rapidly, forming ranks in rows of 20 men.

The front row, facing Yuu directly, placed their round shields firmly in front of them, forming a metal wall, pointing their long spears between the gaps between adjacent shields at him.

The rows behind them, held their shields over their heads, with the four rows behind the first placing their spears just over the shoulders of the first row while the rest kept theirs pointed skywards, though the soldiers that formed and were near the flanks of the group held their shields and spears to the exposed sides, making the whole formation look like some slightly misshapen, spiny iron porcupine.

Yuu vaguely recognized this as the ancient military formation, the phalanx.

It was something that was invented by the Ancient Greeks, so he supposed he should have expected this.

This didn't look good.

The shields they were holding were fairly small, the entire diameter probably the length of Yuu's own arm, so they couldn't cover the soldiers' entire body, exposing vulnerable parts.

However, small shields meant that they were easy to maneuver, meaning that they could probably shift to protect whatever part of their body was being targeted.

And this was assuming that one could get past the spears that extended far in front of the front row.

And the length of the rows meant that it would be difficult for a single person to attack the relatively more vulnerable flanks.

Logic dictated that this phalanx formation put Yuu at a massive disadvantage against his opponents.

However…

"In the end, common sense like that only applies to humans." Yuu muttered as he raised Galatine above his head.

He really had to thank Ares for making the humans leave.

Now he could go all out without the worry of incurring collateral damage.

"O Immortal Sun, let your light shine down on this blade and bring forth the dawn of victory!" Yuu incanted, reciting the words of power that would activate his offensive Authority, using an abbreviated version of the full incantation to lower its power.

A great conflagration ignited around the divine sword, growing in size until the city was bathed in reddish golden light.

Yuu swung Galatine, and a sun crashed into the phalanx formation from above.

They held firm for a second, holding the fireball back with their shields.

And then it exploded, washing the area with white flames.

Needless to say, the formation was destroyed.

Forget just them, the blast had been large enough to engulf the entire area, though with the army taking the brunt of the Authority, the damage wasn't too bad.

At the very least, the city hadn't been utterly annihilated.

The same could not be said of the army.

The soldiers were immolated, turning to ashes along with their equipment.

Even if they were created by a Divine Authority, they simply weren't as strong as an actual Heretic God.

He hadn't used Galatine's full power, wanting to limit the destruction he caused to the once beautiful city, but with how powerful Sun Authorities were in general while under said celestial body, even that restrained power was enough to obliterate anything short of an actual Heretic God.

And also…

Yuu looked past the flames that ignited the surroundings, and quickly picked out Ares from among the wreckage.

The Greek God of War had also been in the range of Galatine's blow, but unlike his troops, he had been able to weather the blow quite easily.

Not that Yuu had expected otherwise. There was no way a real Heretic God would be defeated by a restrained Authority.

But that was not to say that Ares had gotten away completely unscathed.

The visible skin of the God of War was charred in several places, mostly concentrated on his arms, which he had likely brought up to defend himself from the fireball.

Other than that though, the Greek God was pretty much in the pink of health.

However, _he was no longer smiling_.

And that, strangely enough, made Yuu smile.

"So, do I have your attention now?" He asked on an impulse, before the rational part of his brain kicked in and told him that taunting a being beyond human comprehension probably wasn't the best idea in the world.

Ares stared at him impassively, causing a small shiver to run down Yuu's spine.

And then he smiled.

"Indeed! You have proven yourself, boy! In light of that, this Ares shall use his full power to crush you!" The Greek God declared as he brandished his spear.

He turned into a red blur, speeding towards the newest Campione.

Yuu immediately held Galatine up.

A loud clang reverberated through the area, and a strong, painful shudder through Yuu's arm accompanied it.

He gritted his teeth as his arms trembled uncontrollably from the sheer force behind the impact that had almost knocked him right off his feet.

But while he had remained upright, the blow had evacuated all of the air in his lungs, and he struggled to control his breathing once the pain had died down.

It felt like he had been hit by a cannonball.

He was naïve.

This wasn't anything like the battle with Gawain.

The Knight of the Round Table had underestimated him severely, and had not used anywhere close to his full power until the end of the fight, when Yuu had already gained the upper hand against him.

Now was different.

He was a Campione, and Ares knew it.

Thus, the Greek God of War was not holding back like Gawain had.

At least not to the same degree.

He did not think that Ares was completely serious yet.

Yuu, for one, would certainly not look so amused if he was fighting an opponent who was just as capable as he was.

However, the fact remained that while his strikes had a lot less finesse than Gawain's, far more barbaric than the knight's precise attacks had been, they were at least twice as strong, something he had not expected, considering Ares's build was not all that different than that of the chivalrous knight.

So, this was what it meant to truly fight a Heretic God.

This was bad.

The sun may be up, but it was being partially blocked by the dome that was Ares's Authoriry.

And even if it wasn't, at its current position, the Sun-Blessed Knight only had enough power to prevent his body from directly receiving external injuries.

It could not stop internal injuries.

For example, if he was struck by a sharp sword, he would not be cut by its blade.

However, if there was enough force behind the attack, it could not stop his organs from rupturing.

That was the whole reason he had been able to match Gawain while the sun was still up.

If it had been anywhere close to noon, when the sun reached its zenith, he wouldn't have stood a chance.

But, they had fought when the sun was already close to setting.

None of his attacks would have direct effect on the Heretic God of the Sun, but he could still be stunned by powerful blows, like the blow he had delivered to his head to interrupt his Authority.

And power, Ares had in spades.

Yuu clicked his tongue in annoyance.

The moment Ares's army had been vaporized, he should have used Galatine again and done the same to the Heretic God.

It wasn't like he could throw his Authority like it was going out of fashion, but while under the sun, it was certainly easier.

If he had done so, the fight would already be over.

A change of strategy was in order.

Avoid rather than block.

He wasn't powerful enough to do anything else.

Not yet anyway.

Yuu quickly applied his new strategy as Ares jabbed at him again, ducking under the spear as he moved closer to the Heretic God to swing Galatine upwards at him.

The loud screeching of metal rang shrilly in his ears as the burning blade raked across Ares's armor, leaving a long, melting scratch on the chest plate, but not going deep enough to actually reach the Heretic God's body.

The Heretic God took a step back, though it wasn't clear whether it was because of the force behind his attack, or because of the shock of Yuu actually damaging his armor.

However, Yuu did not hesitate to capitalize on the opening and closed the gap, swinging Galatine once more, this time aiming for Ares's neck for a fatal blow.

The War God removed a hand from the shaft of his weapon and placed it in the path of the divine blade.

His gauntlet shattered, metal fragments sent flying by the impact, and some of the shrapnel pierced the flesh of Ares's arm along with the divine blade, cutting deeply, all the way down to the bone by the way the blade abruptly stopped moving.

Yuu drew Galatine back, and had the wind knocked out of him once more when something, Ares's foot, he was guessing, crashed into his gut.

He was sent flying backwards a short distance, tumbling over the ground until he lay sprawled on his back.

He caught a flash in the corner of his eye, and he quickly rolled over, avoiding Ares's spear as the War God attempted to pierce him while he was down.

He quickly sprung back onto his feet, just in time for Ares to close the gap between them again.

There was no time to evade in this instance.

Which meant that the only thing he could do without taking the blow head on was…

Yuu lifted Galatine again in an attempt to block the spear.

Ares's weapon crashed mightily into the silver blade, with all the force and subtlety of a freight train.

However, Yuu did not put any effort into standing his ground.

Doing that would only ensure that he would receive heavy damage.

Instead, he allowed the blow to carry him off his feet, launching him away from the War God.

As he flew through the air, Yuu caught sight of the expression of surprise on Ares's face.

He probably hadn't expected that.

Yuu crashed into the ground a distance away, but with the Sun-Blessed Knight absorbing most of the impact, he had received less damage than he would have had he tried to withstand the blow.

If he tried taking that, he had no doubt that several of the bones in his arms would have cracked, or even broken, and he didn't even want to think about what would happen to his much more fragile muscles and blood vessels.

Yuu quickly recovered and raised Galatine.

Allowing this gap to open up between them would be Ares's undoing.

"O Immortal Sun, let your light shine down on this blade and bring forth the dawn of victory!" Yuu roared, activating his offensive Authority for the second time.

Ares dashed towards him like a bullet, but he would not make it in time.

Yuu swung the raging inferno in his hands down.

Ares grinded to a halt and raised his arm to defend just as the blaze engulfed him, and then exploded thunderously.

Yuu watched as the plaza they had been in was reduced to a burning wreckage, its once beautiful architecture lost beneath the flames.

He cautiously watched the fire, looking out for any signs of Ares's survival.

He had abbreviated the chant again, since there was no way he would be able to make it in time if he had used the full chant, so the power had been reduced once more.

However, this time, Ares had taken the full brunt of the blast.

It wasn't a sure thing, but there was a chance that that had finished him off.

And then his instincts started screaming at him.

Yuu tilted his head, and Ares's spear shot out of the flames and soared right past him.

The God of War was not looking happy.

The surface of his armor, helmet and all, had been melted down to slag, distorting the once pristine appearance of the Heretic God's equipment.

His visible skin was either completely charred black or completely raw from the burning.

However, he was less injured than Yuu had been expecting.

Something that could be attributed to the lump of metal that looked to have fused to his left arm.

Likely the remnants of a shield that Ares had used to block the fireball.

By the looks of it, it hadn't held up for long, but it absorbed enough of the blast to let Ares survive with relatively minor injuries.

The battle was not over yet.

Yuu brandished the divine sword in his hands and prepared to unleash its power again, when Ares spoke.

"…I see that I have been too lenient in this battle. Or perhaps simply too dismissive of you, who bears the appearance of a mere child. However, that ends now, God Slayer. Allow me to show you just how terrifying the God of War is."

Yuu could immediately tell that he wasn't joking by the look in his eyes.

Cold sweat formed on his brow as he felt an immense sense of impending death boring down on him, like a sharp blade had been placed at his throat.

This was…the murderous intent of a Heretic God.

He had never felt anything like this against Gawain, because the knight Heretic God had not seen him as an equal until the very end.

An adult would never fight a child seriously. It was the same concept.

However, Ares was a different story.

Before, perhaps Ares had still been holding back because of his young appearance, but having been struck by Galatine twice, the God of War had now fully acknowledged him as someone who stood on the same level as him.

And he was responding as such, by fully intending to kill him with every last bit of power he had.

And Yuu could feel that seriousness in his murderous intent.

It was completely unlike anything he had ever sensed.

Not even Loki or Hreidmar had ever managed to terrify him to this degree.

The logical part of his brain told him that he should act now. Blast Ares with Galatine again.

His armor was damaged, his shield was destroyed. If Yuu acted now, there was a good chance that he would be able to finish him off and stop whatever he was planning to do before he could actually do it.

That was what logic dictated.

But there was nothing logical about a Heretic God, a Campione, or a fight between them.

That was something that Yuu knew very well, and had been keeping in his mind since the battle with Gawain.

There were no such things as certainties when it came to illogical beings.

In the face of that murderous intent, his instincts were screaming at him to get away from Ares, and that was exactly what he did, jumping back from the Greek God.

And he immediately wondered if he had made the wrong decision, for Ares did not go after him.

"Blood shall paint our path! Screams shall pave the way! Be with me, my eternal companions! Now is the time for chaos!"

Black fog billowed out from the tip of Ares's spear, quickly spreading and covering the area in darkness.

Yuu swung his flaming divine sword at the inky blackness as it neared him, but his blade seemingly had not effect on it, as though it did not actually have a physical form.

And then, it vanished, leaving the surroundings as they were, burning to a crisp, with absolutely no visible difference.

Yuu blinked.

What the hell just happened?

He was sure that Ares had activated an Authority, but as far as he could tell, nothing had changed.

And judging by the look on the War God's face, he was pretty surprised that nothing was happening either.

And then a look of enlightenment came over him.

"Ah yes, the power of a God Slayer is not to be underestimated. An Authority spread thinly will not have even the smallest of consequences. Very well then!"

Ares raised his hand skywards.

An ominous rumbling gave Yuu a bad premonition

He looked up...and paled.

"Uh oh."

Yuu dropped to his knees, a sudden feeling of weakness permeating his body.

The flames around his body and coating Galatine died down to mere flickers.

He already knew what the cause was.

The dome that had been high above their heads, even piercing through the clouds above, had suddenly condensed itself.

In return for shrinking down to a size that barely covered all of Lamia, it had become completely opaque.

He could not see anything past the wall of black-speckled red.

And that also meant that the sun's influence was unable to pass through.

Thus, the Sun-Blessed Knight's power had dropped drastically, to the point where it was negligible.

Yuu smiled wryly.

To think that he would be reduced to this state even while it was still broad daylight out…battles with Heretic Gods were truly as unpredictable as they came.

And more importantly…something was wrong with his head.

He could feel something encroaching on his mind, trying to enter and infect it.

It hadn't succeeded yet, but that was only because Yuu's mental faculties were fully focused on keeping it from doing so.

The moment he dropped his guard for even an instant, that something would flood into his mind like an endless tsunami.

And worst of all…

"Hahahaha! How do you feel, boy? In addition to Madness of the Battlefield, the Authority I activated first, I have now also activated Deimos and Phobos, War's constant companions, and concentrated both of them right here in this citadel! How long do you think you can maintain your sanity!?"

Deimos and Phobos…if Yuu's knowledge of Greek Mythology was correct, those two were twin sons of Ares and Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love among other salacious domains.

The Gods of Terror and Fear.

Ah, so that was it.

That thing that was encroaching on his mind…it was those very emotions.

Rage, Terror and Fear.

Ares's Authorities were working to infect him with those emotions.

Which meant that…this was a race against time.

He could hold back the Authorities' influence, but that was only when he was fully committed to doing so.

However, he also had to continue to fight Ares.

Needless to say, trying to fight a Heretic God without any focus was tantamount to suicide, even for a Campione.

That meant that he had to split his mental faculties between the tasks of holding back the effects of Ares's Authorities and actually taking Ares himself on.

With anything less than his full concentration, Ares's Authority would be able to leak into his mind, albeit at a slower rate.

It all came down to whether or not Yuu could defeat Ares before his mind was fully encroached.

Yuu picked himself off the ground and brandished Galatine.

The real fight had just begun.

* * *

"How far along is the evacuation of the region?"

"While the evacuation of Central Greece failed for obvious reasons, most of those closer to the coast were safely relocated to the outlying islands, with further preparations being made to evacuate them to Asgard shelters in nearby countries. However, at the rate Ares's Authority is expanding, it is unlikely that we will make it in time. Even we are in danger up here. In an hour or less, even this airspace will be engulfed."

"And there has yet to be any further contact from Mononobe Yuu, so we cannot tell how the situation is developing…"

"Surveillance drones also cannot get close to Lamia for fear of being destroyed in the battle, but from a distance, they were able to capture footage of Mononobe-sama's battle against Ares. It still appears to be ongoing, but at this point it is impossible to say who has the upper hand at the moment. The flames engulfing the area in particular make it difficult to continue surveillance."

Mitsuki half-listened to the conversation going on between Charlotte and the Asgard employee, but most of her attention was focused out the window.

She stared intently at the red dome, as though glaring at it would reveal exactly how her brother's battle against the Greek God of War was going.

"You know, staring at it isn't going make the fight go any faster or smoother for bro." Miyako said as she approached her best friend from behind.

Mitsuki sighed and turned to her.

"I know. But, I can't help but be worried."

She had been ever since Yuu had jumped off of the plane and plummeted through the red dome into mainland Greece.

She could not shake the feeling that Yuu was in grave danger.

Which was obvious, considering he was engaged in combat with one of the most dangerous beings in existence.

The fact that Yuu himself was now also one of the most dangerous beings in existence didn't really sink in just yet.

"He'll be fine. You saw how powerful he is. He kicked Yggdrasil's butt pretty easily. And he did win against a Heretic God before."

"And according to everyone who saw, he almost died doing so, and would have had he not become a Campione." She retorted.

"You're being really negative, you know that? He'll be fine. You have faith in him, don't you?"

"Of course, but…"

"Then, stop worrying. Instead, why not think about…I don't know, throwing him a welcome party when we get back to Midgard? You've been working on your cooking, right?"

Mitsuki blinked.

She had spent time improving on her cooking so that she would one day be able to treat Yuu to a wonderful meal.

She smiled, turning slightly red at the thought of the future, when she and Yuu got married and settled down, with children running around the house.

And then she turned redder at the thought of conceiving those children.

But now that Yuu was a Campione…

Mitsuki's face fell again.

As she was now, was she even capable of standing by his side?

Miyako did not fail to notice her best friend's rapid change in mood, and smiled both knowingly and understandingly.

She placed a palm atop her head.

"Yeah, I get it. I'm frustrated too. In the end, despite all of our training, we couldn't do anything at all. We had to leave everything to bro."

Mitsuki's hands unconsciously clenched tightly, almost enough to break her skin and draw blood.

Once again, when faced by a Dragon, she had been rendered completely helpless.

Just like back then, against the Hekatonkheir that was destroying her beloved home.

And once again, Yuu had to take care of everything.

In the end, Yuu had to protect her again.

How could someone like her, who could only be protected over and over, be worthy of remaining by his side?

"I…have to become stronger. Much stronger than I am now. Or I won't be able to stay with him…"

Mitsuki trailed off, her eyes widening in surprise when Miyako wrapped her arms around her.

"I know. So, let's get stronger together. Once we get back to Midgard, we'll train until our limbs fall off."

"…That goes for us too." Firill said as she and Lisa approached the best friends.

"That feeling of utter powerlessness before Yggdrasil…we never want to experience something like that again. So, we have to become stronger as well." The heiress of the Highwalker Group spoke, a bitter expression on her face as she recalled the recent event.

"Mm hm! Let's train together! Well, you heard us. We'll be counting on you, Onee-chan!" Miyako declared happily as she waved to her older sister.

Haruka looked over to them and smiled.

"So be it. I'll work all of you to the bone." The student council president of Midgard proclaimed.

Mitsuki felt herself smiling.

She did not think it would be possible for her to become as powerful as a Campione, beings who had transcended mortal bonds, but at the very least, she did not want to be weak anymore.

She needed to be strong, in order to be worthy of Yuu.

Even now, he was fighting alone…

"…Huh?" Mitsuki let out a sound of confusion when she looked back out the window…and did _not_ see something that was supposed to be there.

"What's wrong?"

"The dome…it's gone!"

Indeed, the dome that marked the expanding effective range of Ares's Authority had vanished from sight, returning the view to its normal coloring.

If it had disappeared…did that mean, Yuu had won?

"What in the…Principal! Come take a look at this!" Haruka called to Charlotte, who had been in the cockpit with Maika and the Asgard employee, speaking between themselves and the pilot about the situation.

"I'm aware. Look carefully. The dome didn't disappear. It _shrunk_." Charlotte's calm voice reached their ears from the front of the plane.

Mitsuki looked out the window again, so close that she was almost pressing her face against it.

Charlotte was right.

It was almost invisible from this height, but the dome was definitely still there.

Where it had once spanned several hundred kilometers in length, almost covering the entire mainland, it had now shrunk down to maybe just a dozen kilometers, rising into the air less than a kilometer off the ground.

It was just big enough to cover Lamia, and nothing else.

However, the dome had become completely opaque, and in addition to its original red color, she could make out flecks of black marring its surface.

Rather than shrinking, it might be more appropriate to say that it had been _compressed_.

Just what was going on down there?

* * *

Yuu deflected Ares's spear over and over, desperately dividing his attention between fending off the Heretic God's physical attacks and his Authorities' assault on his mind.

He thrust Galatine, now only a paltry amount of flames licking around the Divine Sword, at Ares's face.

Compared to Yuu's harried movements, Ares fluidly blocked the attacks headed his way, since he wasn't fighting two battles at the same time like the new Campione was.

This was really bad.

Yuu's performance had dropped after most of Sun-Blessed Knight's power had been cut off by the dome above them.

He was still strong enough to keep up with Ares, but while he had been pressing the God of War before, the opposite was now happening, with him barely able to find an opening to exploit in his opponent's frenzied barrage.

Already, the red spear had gouged him twice, though he had managed to twist out of the way on both occasions and avoid injuries to his vitals.

At the rate that he was losing ground…he had to find a way to end this quickly, or he would most certainly die.

" _I'm scared…"_

" _I'm angry…!"_

Yuu immediately suppressed the involuntary thoughts that had sprung to the forefront of his mind, the result of Ares's Authorities that he wasn't able to completely keep out.

He couldn't let those rampant emotions take over.

There was only one real option for him to take in order to turn this situation around.

"O Immortal Sun, let your light shine down on this blade!" Yuu chanted.

Galatine's blade flashed for a moment as his Words of Power began to instill the flames of the Sun into it.

Ares's foot lashed out and caught him in the gut, interrupting him.

Flying backwards, Yuu cursed as the gathering fragments of the power of his offensive Authority abruptly faded away.

He landed on his feet and immediately ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible.

"O Immortal Sun-!"

His instincts screamed, and Yuu hastily positioned Galatine over his back

A crushing force crashed into his back, lifting him off the ground again, and Yuu knew that if it weren't for his inherent durability as a Campione, he would have been reduced into a bloody paste by that single blow alone.

As it were, he could practically hear his spine creaking, protesting the rough treatment it was being subjected to.

It might have been a miracle on its own that it had not snapped like a twig.

"What's wrong, boy? Is running all you're capable of doing!?" Ares taunted him as he tumbled across the ground.

Yuu did not dignify that with a response and quickly took to the nearby rooftops, taking care to move as erratically as possible to keep Ares off of his back for a while.

The near instantaneous loss of his footing along with the loud sound of something crumbling beneath him told him that his efforts were in vain as Ares chose to simply destroy the building he was on rather than chase after him.

He leapt to the next rooftop, which quickly experienced the same fate.

And the next, and the next, and the next…

This was getting annoying.

Yuu just couldn't find an opening to take advantage of.

What could he do?

He had no hope of landing a decisive blow on Ares with anything short of Galatine's full power, but he didn't have an opportunity to incant the Words of Power.

As foolish as Ares seemed, it appeared even he was aware of how dangerous it was to allow him a chance to use his offensive Authority.

He needed a distraction, something that could take the heat off of him and give him time to strategize...

But what?

All he had was a weakened Galatine, and the physical capabilities afforded to him as a Campione, which might have been enough against any other Heretic God, but against one whose domain was literally combat itself?

Yeah, not a chance in hell.

He could feel his mutated Fafnir, dubbed Fenrir by Loki, reacting to Ares, but it wasn't providing him with the same overwhelming power it was with Gawain.

It was like… _it was missing something_.

It was heightening his instincts, which was what was allowing him to defend against the worst of Ares's attacks, but that was about it.

Then…Dark Matter Generation?

Marduk, being a weapon from an ancient civilization that technologically surpassed the modern era, might be able to put a dent in Ares, but he wouldn't count on it.

As incredible as it was, it was nothing more than a manmade weapon in the end, and it was well established by now that manmade weapons were as good as pea shooters before Heretic Gods.

…Or were they?

Manmade weapons could not directly harm a Heretic God…but what about an indirect way?

"Worth a shot."

A sphere of dark matter formed over Yuu's palm as he leapt to the rooftop of the local church, and quickly solidified into a metal cylinder with circular holes in its frame and a lever secured by a pin.

It was one of NIFL's standard stun grenades, not meant to cause injury, but to disorient the foe.

"Man, I hope this works…"

Yuu pulled the pin out and chucked the grenade behind him, watching it fall towards the ground where he knew Ares was.

As he leapt away from the rooftop, he shut his eyes and clasped his hands over his ears.

Just in time, for a deafening bang coupled with a blinding white light filled the streets below, right in the War God's face.

Yuu uncovered his slightly ringing ears and heard Ares's enraged bellows.

"Curse you, God Slayer! I will kill you! Every humiliation you have caused me, I will inflict on your flesh tenfold!"

He could hardly believe that it had actually worked.

But now that he knew that it did…

…No, attacking was not a viable option.

A stun grenade would overstimulate a human's senses for about five seconds before the effects wore off, but he doubted it would last that long on a Heretic God.

That wasn't anywhere near enough time to invoke Galatine's true power.

In that case, the only thing he could do now was…

Yuu dashed across the rooftops, searching for a place for him to hide and formulate a proper plan.

And as he expected, Ares recovered and started chasing after him within two seconds.

But, that was fine. He knew how to deal with him.

Several spheres of dark matter rapidly formed in Yuu's wake as he moved, solidifying into unsecured grenades that fell to the ground in front of Ares.

Rapid and simultaneous materialization like this would have been impossible for Yuu before, but with his current mental capacity, something of this level wasn't even enough to leave him winded.

The War God grinded to a halt and raised his arms to block the impending shock to his senses.

Continuous bangs and flashes erupted in the streets, eliciting another angry roar from Ares as he received yet another blow to his senses, along with thick clouds of black smoke from the smoke grenades Yuu had mixed in.

Yuu quickly suppressed his presence as he escaped from the scene.

He hoped that would be enough to completely disorient Ares and buy him more time.

Now for a place to hide…

…There.

A densely forested area.

If it was here, he should be able to maintain cover for a while.

He leapt from the rooftops, crossing an incredible distance and landing in the middle of the forest.

Even in the forest, he kept moving.

He couldn't afford to stop. He needed to make sure that his adrenaline kept pumping.

If he stopped now, all of his accumulated fatigue would catch up in an instant.

Now then, what to do?

Ares must have recovered by now and searching relentlessly for him.

As well hidden as he was, it wouldn't be long before he was found.

Should he activate his offensive Authority?

…No, with the dome blocking the sun's influence, he wasn't sure if Galatine would have enough firepower to kill Ares in one shot.

But, if not that…then what else could he do!?

" _I'm scared…! I'm scared…!"_

"Dammit!"

And then there was that…!

Ares's damn Authority had taken advantage of his momentary doubt to attack his mind.

He had to get rid of that damn Authority, before it overtook him!

But how?

The only way to dispel an Authority was to kill its user.

…Wasn't it?

That was when it hit him.

The fact that the dome was capable of hindering Sun-Blessed Knight proved that Authorities were capable of directly interfering with other Authorities.

Ares, as a Heretic God, was durable, enough that Yuu wasn't confident that Galatine in its weakened state was capable of taking him out.

But what about the dome?

Divine Authority though it might be, it looked pretty damn fragile.

A human could never hope to make a scratch on it, but a Campione?

"O Immortal Sun, let your light shine down on this blade! I hereby vow, all things shall be burnt, melted and incinerated, their ashes scattered to the wind! As I raise this sword, what I bring forth is the dawn of victory!"

Galatine roared to life as flames coated the entire blade.

Still less power than it should have at this time of day, but strong enough to be felt from faraway.

Yuu really hoped that this worked, because he had basically blown his cover.

He swung the divine blade upwards.

The plume of flames shot up and slammed into the dome with enough force for it to audibly groan.

Now, the question remained whether or not that was enough power to break it.

If it wasn't…he was as good as dead.

As the flames began to dissipate, having spent their power, the dome did not appear to have a scratch.

Yuu's heart sank like a rock.

He was worn out from that attack, and he could feel Ares rapidly approaching his position.

Even if he hid himself now, Ares wouldn't need any longer than a few seconds to find him.

It was over.

*CRACK*

…Crack?

Yuu inspected the dome, looking for the source of the sound.

There, right where Galatine's flames had struck the dome, a crack had appeared.

It was small, infinitesimally so compared to the rest of the dome.

But that one tiny crack quickly spread across the rest of the dome.

And with a resounding shatter that was music to Yuu's ears, the dome collapsed, its glass-like fragments dissipating mid-fall.

Immediately, he felt a massive surge of power well up within himself as Sun-Blessed Knight returned to its full power.

" **There you are, boy!"**

Ares roared in sheer rage as he tore his way towards Yuu, levelling the woodland between them in the process.

" **DIE!"**

Ares chucked his spear at the God Slayer.

A red streak shot like a comet towards Yuu, moving at a speed a human could never hope to comprehend.

Yuu deftly caught it by the shaft with his left hand.

He exhaled softly, and turned to look at Ares with a dispassionate gaze.

Even the enraged War God paused when confronted by that look of complete and utter apathy.

"You were saying?"

Before Ares could respond, Yuu tossed the spear right back at him.

The War God barely shifted his body in time to get out of the red comet's path.

Not that that did him much good.

Yuu crossed the distance between them and struck him in the face with a heavy fist, sending him sprawling a good distance back.

The feeling of something giving way beneath his fist told him that Ares's nose had been broken by the impact.

"You bra-"

Ares's nasally voice began to call out, but was immediately cut off when Yuu slammed a knee into his already broken nose.

A spurt of blood shot into the air as the appendage suffered even more abuse.

"It's payback time."

Yuu leapt at the downed Heretic God, Galatine roaring with flames.

Ares lifted his spear horizontally, seeking to block the flaming divine blade with the shaft.

It worked for all of a second.

It was a result that was to be expected. Both were Divine Weapons, but Galatine was additionally coated in Flames of the Sun.

And more significantly, Galatine was borne of Steel.

There was a reason why Steel was considered the greatest of all Divine Domains, and it was perfectly demonstrated.

God of War though Ares may be, he was not a God of Steel.

And that made all the difference.

Galatine cleaved right through the spear and tore into Ares's flesh.

The War God roared in pain as a cauterized scar, throbbing an angry red, was carved into his skin.

"Damned Abomination! Mine Chariot, thunder across the blood-soaked battlefield! Mine Steeds, trample mine enemies underfoot!"

The ground split open, a red mass spilling out with an unearthly roar before solidifying beneath Ares's feet.

The War God now stood in a red and gold chariot, images of gruesome death carved into the body, spiked extensions at the axles of the wheels, clearly designed to maim and mangle anyone unlucky enough to come in contact, pulling the reins of four black-furred horses with red orbs for eyes and blood-colored manes.

If it weren't for his misshapen nose, Ares would actually look terrifying.

As it were, he just looked somewhat silly.

His own steeds were more intimidating than he was, though perhaps, that was the intention to begin with.

The four equine divine animals neighed menacingly, spittle flying from their muzzles as they charged at him with a ferocity better suited to rampaging bulls.

There was no doubt that each of them on their own possessed the power to flatten the forest in an instant.

Four of them together? They could level the entire city.

And none of it mattered to him.

Yuu bent his knees, lowering his body to brace himself, as though about to push against an massive object.

He held his hands out just as they reached him, catching the two steeds in the middle by their heads.

The ground beneath them was shattered like glass as what was essentially an unstoppable force collided with what was essentially an immovable object, producing a shockwave more destructive than anything the two combatants had thrown at each other the entire fight.

The stalemate lasted for all of a second before Yuu was slowly pushed back by the immense power of the divine horses, his feet beginning to create deep grooves in the devastated earth beneath.

Yuu was not worried.

The force he was facing was tremendous.

If he had tried this while the dome was still intact, he had no doubt he would have been completely overpowered and violently trampled, even with the nigh magical immunity and incredible endurance of a Campione.

Even so, he was not worried.

Under less than favorable circumstances, he wouldn't have dared to even try to take this head on.

But with the Sun-Blessed Knight in effect and growing ever stronger?

 _This barely qualified as a nuisance._

The sun overhead continued to move ever so slowly to its zenith, and with passing moment, his power rose.

With renewed strength, Yuu made his move.

Rather than directly opposing the horses by pushing back at them, he twisted his arms to the left.

The two horses he was holding on to let out an alarmed sound as they were spectacularly overturned, colliding into the leftmost horse, causing the last horse, the chariot and Ares himself to follow suit as they were knocked over onto the ground.

Not giving them the chance to recover, Yuu beheaded them with a swing of Galatine.

The headless carcasses flailed wildly on the ground for a moment before they stilled and dispersed into clouds of golden dust.

Yuu turned his attention to the War God, and stared at the sight of him.

Ares, shakily rising to his possibly broken feet, fixed him with a glare of manic hatred.

"You…my soldiers, my battlefield, my spear, my stallions, my chariot…! How dare you…! How dare-!"

*CRUNCH*

" _Yes, I dare_." Yuu declared calmly as he interrupted the War God with an elbow to his already broken nose.

Ares stumbled backwards, his hands covering his bloody olfactory organ, groaning in agony.

Yuu lashed out with a foot and tripped him, causing the War God to fall on his ass.

His foot shot out again and caught Ares in the throat, causing him to sprawl backwards, choking and wheezing painfully.

Yuu reached down and tightened a hand around the War God's throat, using the leverage to drag him to his feet before nailing him in the solar plexus with a fist,

As much as Yuu would love to turn him to ashes at that moment, he would have to put that off until a little later.

Even though Galatine's restrictions were practically non-existent under sunlight, he had used it three times in less than an hour, albeit two of those being weakened versions.

He had to wait a bit longer before he could use it at its full power again.

Plus, it really was incredibly cathartic to just wail on the War God like this, providing him with an outlet for his anger.

And at the rate that Ares's body was breaking under his assault, he might not even need Galatine.

*CRUNCH*

The War God cried out in pain as something audibly broke when Yuu slammed Galatine's hilt into his torso.

Assuming the anatomy of all humanoid Heretic Gods was identical to a human's, that was probably the sound of his left ribs cracking…

*CRACK*

…And that would the sound of his lower jaw shattering.

Warm divine ichor gushed from Ares's maw, splattering onto Yuu's face.

Just a few days ago, something like that would have had him reeling in disgust.

Wanting to retain his humanity, he didn't even aim for vitals if he could help it, aiming to incapacitate rather than kill.

With Fafnir and Nergal, his weapon of choice, which was basically a highly advanced taser, it had been easy, with next to no bloodshed.

The amount of blood gushing out of Ares's mouth right now was more than all of the blood Yuu had ever drawn from his opponents, including Gawain.

And yet, he did not feel a thing at the sight of the gore.

Did it come with being a God Slayer? Or perhaps it was because he had accepted that he wasn't human?

Either way, he wasn't really interested in pondering on that.

The only thing he was focused on right now was… _victory_.

Ares let out a roar of incandescent rage, lashing out with a bloodied fist, swung with a force that would make most men flinch in fear and be reduced to a fine red mist as a result.

Yuu wordlessly sliced off said appendage with a single stroke of his divine sword.

His ears rang as the War God fell to his knees and let out a shrill scream, clutching desperately at the stump.

Yuu pressed the tip of Galatine against Ares's throat and tilted the War God's head upwards, forcing him to meet his gaze.

Through the mangled, bloodied mess that was once a somewhat handsome face, Ares's blood red eyes glared hatefully into his passive blue ones.

"Any last words, God of War?"

There was no room for mercy, not in a battle like this.

In a fight between mutual predator and prey, only one could walk away alive.

If it wasn't Yuu, it would be Ares, and that was an unacceptable outcome.

One way or another, the War God's corpse would be hitting the ground.

Ares looked like he was going to say something, but with his jaw shattered and blood filling his mouth, it just came out as a gurgle.

Yuu raised an eyebrow.

"Well said, I suppose."

Yuu swung Galatine.

Ares's head fell from his shoulders, what remained of his face still twisted into an expression of pure hatred.

The severed head hit the lightly scorched earth beneath, followed quickly by the rest of his body.

…What next?

No, seriously, was he supposed to do something?

He couldn't remember anything from after the fight with Gawain, mostly because he was unconscious, so he had no idea what came next.

He knew that Campione received at least one new Authority from each Heretic God they killed, but…how?

Ugh, he didn't have to mutilate the corpse, did he?

As if to answer him, Ares's decapitated head and body began to glow and disperse into golden sand-like particles, drifting in the air for a moment before being carried away by the wind.

At the same time, he felt _something_ pressing against him.

Not in the physical sense, but more spiritual.

That _something_ met only a token resistance before entering and melding with his soul.

Immediately, knowledge poured into his mind, the details of his new Authority and the Words of Power required to summon it.

He grimaced at the thought of having one of the warmongering God's powers, but acknowledged that out of all of Ares's Authorities that he had seen, the one he got was probably the tamest, or at the very least, won't invoke mass hysteria upon manifesting.

Well, except maybe from those with equinophobia.

Finally, his heightened senses died down, returning to a normal level that didn't make him feel like he was having a constant adrenaline rush.

He was glad that the sun was still up, for there was no way he would be able to remain conscious with the fatigue and pain he had accumulated throughout the fight without Sun-Blessed Knight.

It hit him out of the blue.

Ares was dead.

The first Heretic God that the world at large had ever seen. The one that had quite literally struck the fear of God, or rather, Gods, into the hearts of mankind, the boogeyman that made everyone wonder when they would become another victim, become just another statistic in the swathes of casualties inevitably left behind in the wake of a Heretic God's descent.

He would eventually reform, and there would always be more and more Heretic Gods to take his place, but today…maybe just for today, the world would have cause for celebration.

He had to make a report to Asgard…just as soon as he got patched up and had taken a shower.

It would probably be bad form to show up to a meeting with the world's highest authorities smelling of blood and ashes.

* * *

 _He_ stirred.

Horribly weakened, as was his curse, yet barely maintained enough clarity to comprehend events that had just transpired.

How long had it been since he had fallen into his deep slumber?

Decades?

Centuries?

Millennia?

It mattered not. The passage of time held no sway over He Who is Eternal.

What was it that had caused him to stir?

…Ah, yet another one of his mortal enemies had been born.

Nemeses they were to all Gods, but for He is Born to Slay the Demon Kings, they were doubly so.

He held no personal grudge against them, any of them, but he had been summoned to kill them, and thus his enemies they were.

With the newest addition, there were now…7 Demon Kings walking the Earth?

The world had not seen that many since the Bronze Age when he had first been summoned.

Three were old, though still babes in his eyes.

The remaining four were young even in the eyes of mortals, the newest one especially so.

It was truly incredible that he was able to slay one of his kin at such a young age.

And his own nephew, no less?

How interesting.

Perhaps it was only natural that he would stir.

And perhaps…the time of his awakening was approaching.

* * *

And done.

This is an addendum to Chapter 3 since I noticed that this was way too short to be a chapter on its own.

I was originally going to write a much chapter with a more detailed fight scene, but upon reexamining the novels, I noticed a certain trend.

Authorities of Sun and Steel are fucking overpowered.

I have yet to see Godou, aka the youngest Campione, struggle against any Heretic God that wasn't of Steel.

Then again, the non-Steel Heretic Gods that he has fought were Melqart, Athena and Circe.

Granted, Melqart fought him to a draw, Athena managed to squeeze out a win against him, and Circe did actually make him squirm for a while, but one had lost before to him after being hit _once_ by his Stallion, would have died had Godou not chosen to spare her and only won after she developed a fighting style specifically tailored to counter the Warrior, and another could _steal_ his Authorities.

And keep in mind that Melqart had also fought Verethragna to a draw.

Verethragna, the original holder of Godou's main Authorities, and arguably the more skilled user.

Godou fought the very same Melqart to a draw while not knowing what the fuck he was doing.

So yeah, Sun and Steel too OP, plz nerf.

Anyway, that was my reasoning for why Yuu was able to win so easily against Ares.

Rest assured, it won't get any easier. He will be fighting Gods under less than favorable circumstances, Gods that can outright counter his Authorities, and of course, other Gods of Steel.

Sorry it took so long to write this chapter, but I have been very busy with university life.

That's all for now, as always please read and review.


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